NIH, Under Pressure, Boosts Minority Health Research

Abstract

BIOMEDICAL POLICYAdvocates complain that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) isn't doing enough to address minority health issues, and last week the institutes hosted a meeting to discuss how to rectify the situation. Participants heard NIH officials describe an institutes-wide review currently under way to intensify its efforts, for example, by recruiting more minorities into clinical trials. Also in the works is a controversial proposal in Congress to elevate NIH's Office of Research on Minority Health to a full-fledged center--a change that would foster minority-related health research by giving it both greater visibility and the power to fund its own projects.