Bringing DEI to Clinical Trial, Cancer Clinics Through Self-Awareness

Underrepresentation in clinical trials among minority populations remains a critical issue, as this lack in diversity in research may hinder the development of effective treatments for patients with cancer, an expert said.

Andy Guinigundo, MSN, RN, CNP, ANP-BC, director of precision oncology at Cincinnati Cancer Advisors, presented at the 8th Annual School of Nursing Oncology on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in cancer clinics. In addition to addressing disparities in research, Guinigundo also highlighted self-awareness and implicit bias among healthcare providers. Recognizing that personal experiences can influence patient care, he urged attendees to examine their own biases and seek out education to better understand the needs of diverse patient populations.

Guinigundo also spoke with Oncology Nursing News about how oncology nurses and advanced practice providers can help move the needle in both cancer clinics and clinical trials.

Transcript:

Knowledge changes. We are just getting to the point where we're saying, “OK, we're getting a little bit better about getting a more diverse population in clinical trials.” When you have a clinical trial for a big cancer, lung cancer, and it's 1% Black [patients] compared to other ethnicities. Well, that's not the distribution in America, in terms of—if you look at how many people get this disease in comparison to the population in the United States and among different racial groups. That's not the breakdown. So can we make a distinction, or can we make a blanket statement that says, “Oh, well, this drug is good for any patient with lung cancer.” Maybe not. We've been doing that. That's because we work with the best data available. So, we need to work better in terms of getting better data.

But to your original question, [what advice you would give to nurses and APPs], we have to continue to educate ourselves and continue to look within, too. What are my biases? It's one thing I talk about in the [SONO] presentation as well, as in implicit bias…. No one walks in the door a blank slate. You could be—everyone says that she's the best… nurse around here, and she's non-judgmental. No. We all walk in with biases, and we can't erase those.… “Gosh, I was in a family of 5,” [or] “I did or didn't have both parents in my home.” Those are things that you can't go back and change. So that if you recognize those things in yourself, then you can apply those or go, “Well, I don't quite know what that's like, because my house was different than this.”

So, unless we can educate ourselves on ourselves and then educate ourselves on what's out there in terms of research, I think that's when you apply [diversity, equity, and inclusion] properly.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.