Research partnership with underserved African-American communities to improve the health of older persons with disability: a pilot qualitative study.

Background And Aims: Underserved ethnic minorities are often under-represented in clinical investigations, often in the context of poor relationships between academic institutions and their minority communities. The aim of this study was to investigate an African-American community's perceptions about the barriers that hinder participation in research studies and, more broadly, on the status of institution/community relationships.

Methods: We conducted a pilot qualitative study, based on semi- structured interviews of leaders of African-American communities in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.