Health Equity in Clinical Trials Congress 2025: Our Takeaways

We recently attended the 2025 Health Equity in Clinical Trials Congress, where we joined leaders across healthcare, research, and communications to advance a shared goal: ensuring equity in clinical trials isn’t aspirational—it’s necessary. Our team members, Séamus Spencer and Becca Post, left energized and inspired, with takeaways that reaffirm our commitment to inclusive marketing and design, and that will influence how we help clients connect health initiatives with their communities.

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Representation Matters, Profoundly.

Patients and communities want to see themselves reflected authentically, not just in stock images or generic messaging, but in the language, visuals, and materials used throughout clinical trials and health communications. Representation isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about giving marginalized groups a seat at the table and a voice in the conversation. This means questioning assumptions based on outdated or incomplete demographic data and continuously asking: Who is included? Who is excluded? Who is missing?

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Effective Messaging Must Be Culturally Relevant, Simple, and Patient-Centered

Health equity depends on communication that meets people where they are, linguistically, culturally, and emotionally. Messaging must be clear, jargon-free, and tailored to the lived realities of diverse audiences. We must also consider health literacy levels and historical barriers to trust, such as past trauma or systemic discrimination.

Importantly, caregivers play a vital role in the patient journey and must be included in outreach and education efforts. They are often the gatekeepers, researchers, and emotional support for patients, yet their needs and perspectives are frequently overlooked. Crafting messaging for both patients and caregivers ensures better understanding, engagement, and ultimately, trial participation and retention.

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Building Trust Requires Community Partnership and Long-Term Commitment

Trust is the cornerstone of health equity and patient engagement. It cannot be “added on” or taken for granted. The most effective campaigns are rooted in authentic relationships with communities, including local nonprofits, healthcare providers, and patient advocacy groups. This approach involves community voices early and often, not only to co-create messaging but to validate and refine it based on honest feedback.

Community engagement is a two-way street: it’s about how brands and sponsors listen, respond, and involve people they want to reach, not just how those people interact with a campaign or product.

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Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Shape Access and Outcomes  

Health equity strategies can’t stop at race, ethnicity, or gender alone. Social determinants like income level, transportation access, childcare availability, and neighborhood resources deeply impact a person’s ability to participate in clinical trials and engage with healthcare messaging.

Understanding and addressing these factors through targeted, context-sensitive communication and support services is essential. This means creating materials and campaigns that reflect the full complexity of patients’ lives and remove barriers at every step, from awareness and enrollment to retention and follow-up.

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How We’re Applying Our Findings at Helen + Gertrude 

• We’re actively auditing our own website for accessibility gaps. 
• We met some great potential partners such as Acclinate, Clinispan, and SGM Alliance. We're excited to make connections with our Clients to enhance our work together.
• We’re building internal checklists, training, and client offerings, like accessibility audits and inclusive messaging frameworks, to help brands walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Want to learn more about integrating health equity into your clinical trial communications or community engagement strategies? Let’s chat.