{"id":401621,"date":"2026-09-16T16:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/401621\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T16:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:06:10","slug":"fiu-baptist-health-physician-researchers-explore-ways-to-expand-clinical-trial-participation-fiu-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/401621\/","title":{"rendered":"FIU\/Baptist Health physician-researchers explore ways to expand clinical trial participation | FIU News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building awareness and understanding<\/p>\n

The study supported Dumeny\u2019s idea that community education can make a difference.<\/p>\n

After the sessions, 96% of participants said the presentations improved their understanding of clinical trials, while 77% said they were more willing to participate in future studies.<\/p>\n

\"Clinical<\/p>\n

Clinical trial outreach session in Palm Beach<\/p>\n

A better understanding and willingness to participate in clinical trials could help bring a more diverse group of people into clinical trials, giving researchers a better picture of how treatments work across different populations and making study findings more relevant to future patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a need to inform people that clinical trials are available to them, why they might want to participate and why representation matters so that more people can benefit in the future,\u201d said Dumeny.<\/p>\n

This is especially important in cancer research, where rates of some cancers are rising among younger adults. According to the American Cancer Society’s 2026 Cancer Statistics report<\/a>, colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death among people younger than 50. From 2013 to 2022, breast cancer incidence increased about 1% per year overall, while among women younger than 50, it increased about 1.4% per year.<\/p>\n

Among participants who were initially hesitant, 33% cited concerns about side effects or doubts about whether a treatment would work.<\/p>\n

Because treatments may be new and people can respond differently, it is difficult to anticipate every side effect. The finding highlights the importance of making sure patients understand potential risks, know how research teams monitor and respond to them, and feel comfortable reporting concerns throughout the trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning about these side effects is part of the research process,\u201d said Dumeny.<\/p>\n

A message to the community<\/p>\n

The study included a relatively small group of participants, and because the surveys were anonymous, researchers could not determine whether those who expressed interest ultimately pursued a clinical trial.<\/p>\n

Still, the findings highlight an opportunity for South Florida\u2019s diverse communities to play a greater role in clinical research and help ensure new treatments are studied in populations that reflect the patients who may ultimately benefit from them.<\/p>\n

\u201cParticipating in clinical trials is one way that patients can contribute to the scientific process of managing and curing disease,\u201d said Dumeny. \u201cParticularly in cancer trials, participation may also be an opportunity to access novel therapies or options that may not otherwise be available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandoval-Leon said greater awareness can help address misconceptions about clinical trials, including the belief that participants are treated as \u201cguinea pigs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrials are governed by strict ethical and regulatory oversight, and patient advocates are directly involved in designing and reviewing trials to make sure they are patient-centered from the start,\u201d she said. \u201cParticipants are protected, informed and central to the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dumeny plans to continue engaging South Florida communities through education and outreach, helping more people see clinical trials as an opportunity to contribute to research and improve care for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Building awareness and understanding The study supported Dumeny\u2019s idea that community education can make a difference. After the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-401621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}