A Critical Analysis of White Racial Framing and Comfort with Medical Research

Objective: Analyze racial differences in comfort with medical research using an alternative to the traditional approach that treats white people as a raceless norm. Methods: Quantitative analysis of survey responses (n = 1,570) from Black and white residents of the US to identify relationships between perceptions of research as a right or a risk, and comfort participating in medical research. Results: A lower proportion of white respondents reported that medical experimentation occurred without patient consent (p < 0.001) and a higher proportion of white respondents reported that it should be their right to participate in medical research (p = 0.02). Belief in one’s right to participate was significantly predictive of comfort (b = 0.37, p < 0.001). Belief in experimentation without consent was significantly predictive of comfort for white respondents but not for Black respondents in multivariable analysis. Conclusions: A rights-based orientation and less concern about the risks of medical research among white respondents demonstrate comparative advantage. Efforts to diversify medical research may perpetuate structural racism if they do not (1) critically engage with whiteness and its role in comfort with participation, and (2) identify and respond specifically to the needs of Black patients.