Four decades of under-representation: a qualitative study to gain young adult insights to transform inclusive recruitment in clinical research

Abstract: Over the past four decades, ethnic minority groups have remained persistently under-represented in UK health research, despite longstanding evidence of recruitment inequities. This under-representation limits research relevance and impacts clinical outcomes, particularly for communities disproportionately affected by chronic conditions. Young adults may offer an important route to engaging families and wider communities, yet their perspectives on research participation remain underexplored.

Objectives

This qualitative study aimed to (1) explore the views of young South Asian and Black adults on taking part in health research themselves; and (2) understand how they believe their families and wider communities could be effectively approached and supported to participate Setting and design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted remotely with young adults residing across England. Aggregated recruitment data were obtained from a West Midlands National Health Service (NHS) Trust to examine patterns of research participation in research from different racial and minority ethnic backgrounds and provide local context of our interview findings. The results have been reported using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines.