The Association Between Research Staff Demographics and Recruitment of Minority Patients into an Emergency Department-Based Biobank

Underrepresentation of minorities in research contributes to health inequities. While patient–provider racial and gender concordance has been associated with improved trust, satisfaction, and positive outcomes, little is known about whether similar dynamics influence the success of research recruitment. This study assesses the association between research staff race and ethnicity and the recruitment of minority participants.

This is a retrospective analysis of research staff and subject screening and enrollment demographics. Post-graduate research associates were tasked with recruitment into an emergency department (ED)-based biorepository between February 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. Descriptive statistics characterized the populations, and a backwards elimination multivariable logistic regression modeled the association between research staff and subject race and ethnicity and the odds of consenting to participate using a p<0.05 for elimination.

Among consented participants, 71.4% were White, 16.5% were Black, 1.4% Asian, 14.1% were Hispanic, and 54.6% were female. Consent rates were higher among encounters involving subjects and staff of the same race (concordant race - 63% consented vs discordant race - 59.3% consented, p=0.02). Using backwards elimination, female versus male subjects (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.72-0.95) and racial minority versus white subjects (American Indian vs White: OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.10-0.91; Asian vs White: OR 0.53, 95 CI 0.32-0.90; Black or African American vs While: OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.38-0.53) had lower odds of consenting. Neither research staff race and ethnicity nor concordance of race and ethnicity between staff and subjects were independently associated with consent rates.

Racial minority and female patients remain less likely to consent to biobank participation in the ED setting. While staff demographics and racial/ethnic concordance were not independently associated with the odds of consent upon multivariable logistic regression, a higher proportion of encounters involving racial concordance resulted in consent. These findings suggest that structural and patient-level factors may play a larger role than staff demographics alone and highlight the need for targeted strategies to improve minority patient enrollment into clinical research.