Minority clinical trials key to Walmart effort

Walmart Inc.’s latest dive into the health care arena involves reaching out to underrepresented populations for inclusion in clinical trials.

The Bentonville-based retailer said Tuesday that its Walmart Healthcare Research Institute is focused on sharing information on new treatments and medications with communities that stand to benefit the most from them but have too often been left out of these studies.

Working since April with study partners such as clinical research organizations, pharmaceutical companies and academic medical centers, Walmart’s research institute has already referred three times the usual number of participants to various clinical trials, the company said in a news release.

Clinical trials have historically not represented the overall population.

Food and Drug Administration data for 2020 shows that 75% of trial participants in that year were white; 11% were Hispanic; 8% were Black; and 6% were Asian.

Charles D. Henderson, chief executive officer of the American Diabetes Association, said people most affected by the disease are often left out of research because they don’t live close to research centers, or have the time or financial ability to participate in trials.

The same applies to people affected by other ailments, especially older adults, rural residents, women and minority populations.

The premise behind starting the institute was Walmart’s strong relationships in its communities and a high level of trust, company Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Wigneswaran said.

The approach Walmart is taking in these communities

is that it’s not doing hundreds of thousands of studies, but rather “looking at specific studies and diseases that might be more appropriate for a specific patient because they may have that condition or have a family member who has that condition,” Wigneswaran said.

“So when we reach out to someone,” he said, “the language that we use is very clear about ‘do you know there was an important medication that’s being studied in a condition that you have that might be really important for you? Would you like to hear about it?’”

“The win for us is not only the ability to potentially recruit someone,” Wigneswaran said, “but during that encounter, we’re able to talk to that patient about that health literacy issue or understanding, and it actually might jog another care aspect that might be something within the pharmacy.”

“So it’s not research as you typically think about it,” Wigneswaran said. “It’s really sort of engaging the community.”

Referring people for clinical trials is step one for the Walmart Healthcare Research Institute.

A future stage may allow people taking a study drug to come into a store pharmacy to get their dose, Wigneswaran said.

With 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a Walmart, the company said, more people could conveniently take part in the various trials.

Walmart has created a website for the public called My Health Journey, which includes information on how to take part in the trials.

“By volunteering to participate in My Health Journey, you will receive information about health care research studies and have the opportunity to participate in research to answer some of the most pressing health questions,” Walmart says on the website.