Women in clinical trials

OB/GYN News, Nov 15, 2001 by Sally Peters

The National Institutes of Health has amended its policy on women and minorities in clinical research. The new policy includes updated racial and ethnic categories outlining the minimum standards for the collection and maintenance of data on race and ethnicity, and provides additional guidance on how gender and race data should be reported in NIH-defined phase III clinical trials.

"The guidelines ensure that all NIH-funded clinical research will be carried out in a manner sufficient to elicit information about individuals of both sexes/genders and diverse racial and ethnic groups," a summary of the amended policy states. The new policy may be found on the Internet at www.grants.nih.gov.