How can ethnic representation in clinical research studies in childhood and adult SLE be improved?

I think there are multiple steps in the research process at which we may have opportunities to improve representation in clinical studies, not just with respect to race or ethnicity, but also socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. For large database studies like this, there needs to be a major push to include social determinants of health, both at the individual level and at the area level. This means health systems have to do the legwork to collect this data and standardize it. For prospective...

This is the million-dollar question. It will take multifaceted approaches. I think while ironically it should be easier to enroll children with lupus into clinical trials given more pediatric rheumatologists are in academic practices, children are a protected group and as such few clinical trials are designed to target them and their needs and disease manifestations. Therefore, we need more trials in kids. We need more trials in places that see kids of color. We need investigators and research s...