Paid research
A secondary analysis of the RETAIN randomized clinical trial examined whether offering financial incentives could reduce enrollment gaps for historically underrepresented groups in randomized clinical trials.
Among 454 adults with major depressive disorder approached to enroll in a smoking cessation trial, higher incentive amounts ($200 or $500 vs $0) eliminated baseline differences in enrollment between Black and White participants. While enrollment rates were initially lower for Black individuals compared to White individuals in the absence of incentives, these differences were no longer statistically significant at higher incentive levels.
There was no evidence that higher incentives produced similar changes in enrollment gaps by sex, educational attainment, or age. These findings suggest that financial incentives may help address racial enrollment disparities in clinical research without introducing disproportionate effects by subgroup or evidence of undue inducement. https://ja.ma/45Rajhb