The claim that racial and ethnic minority groups in the US are less willing to participate in health research seems to be validated by data showing that minority groups are underrepresented in at least some health research studies [20–25]. Yet, willingness to participate is just one factor that influences whether individual patients and patient groups participate in health research [9,26]. Other factors include whether they are informed of research opportunities, whether they are medically eligible to participate, and whether their personal circumstances, including child care demands, job flexibility, and geographic proximity to research sites, allow them to participate.
