Improving representation of Hispanic adults in a population-based cancer genetics cohort: Qualitative findings from the Healthy Oregon Project.

Background: Members of many racial and ethnic population subgroups are underrepresented in clinical trials and research. We present perspectives on barriers and facilitators to study participation gathered from Hispanic participants in a population-based genetic screening study.

Methods: Seven focus groups (five in English and two in Spanish) were conducted with self-identified Hispanic participants of the Healthy Oregon Project (HOP), a large population-based cohort of adults residing in Oregon.

Novel recruitment approaches and operational results for a statewide population Cohort for cancer research: The Healthy Oregon Project.

Background: Cancer health research relies on large-scale cohorts to derive generalizable results for different populations. While traditional epidemiological cohorts often use costly random sampling or self-motivated, preselected groups, a shift toward health system-based cohorts has emerged. However, such cohorts depend on participants remaining within a single system.

Population screening shows risk of inherited cancer and familial hypercholesterolemia in Oregon.

The Healthy Oregon Project (HOP) is a statewide effort that aims to build a large research repository and influence the health of Oregonians through providing no-cost genetic screening to participants for a next-generation sequencing 32-gene panel comprising genes related to inherited cancers and familial hypercholesterolemia. This type of unbiased population screening can detect at-risk individuals who may otherwise be missed by conventional medical approaches. However, challenges exist for this type of high-throughput testing in an academic setting, including developing a low-cost high-efficiency test and scaling up the clinical laboratory for processing large numbers of samples.