The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) recently informed the Lupus Foundation of America that there is a new grant to improve the rate of minority participants involved in lupus clinical trials.
The grant, called Improving Minority Participation in Clinical Trials (IMPACT) for Lupus, is designed to develop a national model that will heighten minority participation as well as retention in clinical trials studying lupus.
The new funding will help the Lupus Foundation of America and its researchers promote participation in clinical trials. This is particularly important for people who have lupus but don’t have access to health care that meets quality standards.
It is vital that lupus clinical trials have quality participation. This will affect how the scientists develop new drugs, test treatments and evaluate results as they look for more accurate, effective, safe approaches for patients with lupus.
The goal of the Lupus Foundation of America is to closely cooperate with leaders, experts in minority clinical research participation, people with lupus and the biopharma industry to create a small group of lupus leadership.
“We are thrilled that the OMH has recognized the important work we do -- and the influence and impact we have on the lupus community at large,” according to the Lupus Foundation of America.
The new project started this month and lasts until June 2017.
