Wednesday, 20 August 2003: 15:45-17:15 | |||
S072 Enhancing Research Participation for Ethnic Minority Elders: An American Problem with International Implications | |||
| The elderly population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. In 1994, 1 in 10 elderly were a race other than Caucasian. This proportion is expected to rise to 2 in 10 by 2050. By 2050, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and others will all have increased proportions in the elderly population. African-American elderly population will increase from 8% to 10%. The Hispanic elderly population is projected to escalate from 4% to 16%. Similarly, the combined proportion of Asians, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, Eskimos, and Aleuts will increase from 2% to 8%. Despite this growth in diversity, elderly ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in clinical and health services research. Understanding the differences between ethnic groups defined as “groups that share a common ancestry” is critical to designing and implementing mental health programs for the aged in both the social and biological domains. It is therefore critical that clinical trials have a sufficient number of subjects from racially and ethnically diverse groups to allow for a scientifically appropriate evaluation of the effects in the intervention in a particular group. Despite this recognition of this discrepancy, the underrepresentation of ethnic minority elders still remains a problem. This symposium will highlight the significance of including ethnic minority elders in research and review barriers to their participation. Further, the importance of understanding the decision making process of ethnic minority elders to participate in clinical trials will be emphasized. Practical strategies for identifying minority elders will be shared. Recruitment and retention strategies of older minorities in depression research will also be explored. | |||
| Chair: | Warachal Eileen Faison | ||
| S072-001 Research Participation of Ethnic Minority Elders: Current Concepts and Future Directions Warachal Eileen Faison | |||
| S072-002 Practical Strategies for Identifying Minority Elders: Focus on Alzheimer's Disease Trials Mary Sano | |||
| S072-003 Consumer-Based Research Methods for Recruiting and Retaining Ethnic Minorities into Mental Health Research Patricia Arean, Jennifer Alvidrez, Liat Ayalon | |||
Back to The Eleventh International Congress