Numerous writers have emphasized the need to increase minority participation in health research [38–42]. Such efforts are important for reasons of justice, and to ensure research findings are generalizable to the entire population. These efforts are especially important given data that minority groups are not represented adequately in some clinical trials [1–4,25]. If efforts to increase minority participation are to succeed, it is vital to understand why minority groups are underrepresented in some research trials. Widespread discussion of past abuses, and racial and ethnic minorities' presumed unwillingness to participate, has focused attention on the attitudes of individuals from minority groups. However, the current data suggest individuals from minority groups, at least in the US, are as willing as non-Hispanic whites to participate in health research when eligible and invited to participate.
