society, as well as on them as individuals (Ejiogu et al., 2011). Furthermore, educational programs could assist in the resolution of some underlying issues in obtaining diverse genetic samples. It has been shown that non-European Americans, for example, were less likely than European-Americans to be knowledgeable of informed consent regulations, as well as more likely to be distrustful of their physicians, for fear of negative outcomes (Wilets et al., 2003). Particularly regarding African-Americans, other cultural factors, such as religion (Advani et al., 2003) or past history (Brandt, 1978, Truog et al., 2012) at the receiving end of biomedical abuses of power, play large roles in sample underrepresentation. In addition, African-Americans may be more difficult to locate and contact in the community, with higher proportions of African-Americans having incorrect addresses or telephone numbers listed, representing a key barrier for including them in genetic studies (Hartz et al., 2011). Improving racial/ethnic diversity necessitates acknowledgement of the underlying issues, as well as targeted efforts to resolve them through proper study organization and investigator preparation (Branson et al., 2007).
