Minority Inclusion in Clinical Trials Act of 2015

Minority Inclusion in Clinical Trials Act of 2015

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities shall include within its strategic plan ways to increase representation of underrepresented communities in clinical trials.

The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for expanding existing opportunities for scientists and researchers, and for promoting the inclusion of underrepresented minorities in the health professions, to eligible entities that demonstrate a commitment to health workforce development in underrepresented communities. To be eligible to receive a grant, an entity must be an educational institution or entity that historically produces or trains meaningful numbers of underrepresented minority health professionals.

Grants shall be used to implement, expand, or evaluate workforce diversity programs that shall enhance diversity by considering minority status as part of an individualized consideration of qualifications.

HHS must carry out the following activities to eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes:

• conduct research into the determinants and the distribution of disparities in maternal care, health risks, and health outcomes and improve the capacity of the performance measurement infrastructure to measure such disparities;
• expand access to services that have been demonstrated to improve the quality and outcomes of maternity care for vulnerable populations; and
• establish a demonstration project in up to eight states to compare the effectiveness of interventions to reduce disparities in maternity services and outcomes and implement and assess effective interventions.

HHS must establish and coordinate a health and health care disparities education program to support, develop, and implement educational initiatives and outreach strategies that inform health care professionals and the public about the existence of, and methods to reduce, racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care.