The Inclusion of African-American Study Participants in Web-Based Research Studies: Viewpoint

The use of Web-based methods for research recruitment and intervention delivery has greatly increased as Internet usage continues to grow. These Internet-based strategies allow for researchers to quickly reach more people. African-Americans are underrepresented in health research studies. Due to this, African-Americans get less benefit from important research that could address the disproportionate health outcomes they face. Web-based research studies are one promising way to engage more African-Americans and build trust with the African-American community. With African-Americans’ increasing access to the Internet using mobile phones and other mobile phone technologies, we advocate for efforts to increase the representation of African-Americans in research studies by using the Internet as a recruitment tool and conclude with recommendations that support this goal.