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. 2021 Aug 25;5(1):e185.
doi: 10.1017/cts.2021.843. eCollection 2021.

Recruiting underrepresented individuals in a double pandemic: Lessons learned in a randomized control trial

Gretchen E White  1 , Chelsea N Proulx  1 , Natalia E Morone  2   3 , Audrey J Murrell  4 , Doris M Rubio  1
Affiliations

Recruiting underrepresented individuals in a double pandemic: Lessons learned in a randomized control trial

Gretchen E White et al. J Clin Transl Sci. .

Abstract

The Building Up Trial is a cluster-randomized trial that aims to address the issue of the leaky career pathway for underrepresented (UR) faculty in biomedical fields. Regulatory approval and recruitment for the Building Up Trial took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and the anti-racism movement. The pandemic and anti-racism movement personally and professionally impacted the target population and made recruitment challenging at both the institution and participant level. The target sample size for this study was 208 postdoctoral fellows or early-career faculty across 26 predominately white institutions. Challenges and adaptations are described. The Building Up Trial was delayed by 3 months. In total, 225 participants from 26 institutions were enrolled. Participants are predominately female (80%), Hispanic/Latinx (34%) or non-Hispanic/Latinx Black (33%), and early-career faculty (53%). At the institution level, obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval through a single Institutional Review Board (sIRB) posed the biggest challenge. We adapted to COVID-19-related challenges through simplifying sIRB forms, modifying study practices, and increasing communication with institutions. Recruiting UR postdoctoral fellows and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-racism movement was challenging but not impossible. Studies should be prepared to modify study and recruitment policies to overcome additional barriers posed by the pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; anti-racism; career development; diversifying the biomedical research workforce; diversity equity inclusion; recruitment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Building Up a Diverse Workforce for Biomedical Research Trial Timeline. * Initial anticipated intervention start date July 1, 2020. ** Second anticipated intervention start date September 1, 2020. sIRB, single Institutional Review Board.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Recruitment timeline for institutions participating in the Building Up Trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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