Comment

Genetic ancestry affects human health, but this is distinct from the impact of race, a social construct that has its foundations in systemic racism. These terms need to be better defined and understood in medical research to achieve health equity.

Open datasets, curated around unsolved medical problems, are vital to the development of computational research in medicine, but remain in short supply. Nightingale Open Science, a non-profit computing platform, was founded to catalyse research in this nascent field.

Patient-reported outcomes are increasingly collected in clinical trials and in routine clinical practice, but strategies must be taken to include underserved groups to avoid increasing health disparities.

Mental health services often seek to increase supply, without considering demand, which can be addressed by matching care to the needs and preferences of users.

Forcibly displaced persons, such as refugees, are at an increased risk of physical and mental health conditions and would therefore benefit from novel healthcare technologies, research on which can be conducted under an ethical framework.

Grantmaking organizations play a crucial role in increasing diversity and equity in the biomedical workforce. Collecting demographic data, increasing the diversity of applicants and reducing bias in peer review are valuable strategies to achieve these goals.

Many newly approved cancer therapeutics offer limited clinical benefits yet are still prescribed to patients. A common-sense revolution in oncology would prioritize treatments that meaningfully improve survival and quality of life.

The Bloomberg New Economy International Cancer Coalition brings together academia, industry, government, patient advocacy and policy think tanks to leverage technology and collaboration to improve patient access to clinical trials and to harmonize regulations aiming to accelerate cancer cures and prevention worldwide in the post-pandemic era.

Many governments are rolling back restrictions, but the pandemic will end only with a renewed focus on equitable distribution of vaccines and therapeutics, responsive public health plans, and policies to protect the vulnerable.

Window-of-opportunity trials, during which patients receive short-duration pre-surgical therapies, provide a platform for understanding the therapies’ mechanisms of action, but will require a paradigm shift in trial design, specimen collection and analysis.

Tests to identify chromosomal abnormalities in embryos and in early pregnancies are frequently used to make important decisions, including terminations, but many rely on outdated science. Regulation of these genetic tests is urgently needed to ensure transparency and validation.

Women in academia have fallen behind with publications and grant funding during the COVID-19 pandemic and risk dropping out of the research workforce altogether, unless urgent action is taken by institutes and funders.

Healthcare is increasingly provided in a patient’s home, with potential cost savings and clinical improvements. But the hospital-at-home also raises unique liability issues not only for physicians and hospitals but also for caregivers and patients.

Built-in decision thresholds for AI diagnostics are ethically problematic, as patients may differ in their attitudes about the risk of false-positive and false-negative results, which will require that clinicians assess patient values.

Combinations of cardiovascular medications taken in a single pill — known as polypills — are effective but not widely used, requiring a global shift from physicians, regulators and drug developers.

COVID-19 and its neurological consequences particularly burden marginalized communities, and so can only be effectively treated by advancing health equity.

If used correctly, patient-reported outcomes can provide preliminary evidence of efficacy and tolerability from a patient perspective, as well as supporting regulatory review.

The passe sanitaire increased levels of vaccination, but to a lower extent among the most vulnerable, and did not reduce vaccine hesitancy itself, showing the importance of outreach to underserved communities and the potential limits of mandatory vaccination policies.

Collection of data on sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status will help to reduce health disparities that affect people from sexual and gender minority communities.

STEMM organizations must be proactive in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.