Clinical trial diversity learning for healthcare providers

A biotechnology company needed learning that would do more than raise awareness. It needed to influence behavior: helping healthcare providers understand their role in increasing representation of Black and Hispanic patients in clinical studies, while equipping them to approach those conversations with greater empathy, confidence, and trust.

The EY Center for Health Equity and our learning team partnered to create an interactive program covering the value of inclusive research, the role of bias, the roots of mistrust in the U.S. health system, and practical strategies for advancing participation.

This was not simply an information problem. Providers needed space to reflect on bias, confront difficult realities, and practice conversations they might otherwise avoid or feel unprepared to navigate.

The audience included physicians, nurses, and other research-site staff speaking with patients and families. The solution had to be credible, practical, emotionally intelligent, and flexible enough for busy schedules. Limited grant funding also meant making difficult choices about which strong topics and interview material to include.

I served as training lead and primary instructional designer, guiding the work from early concept through development and delivery. I led a small cross-functional team that included another training developer, a programmer, and a visual designer.

• Partnered with the EY Center for Health Equity and client stakeholders
• Led live reviews and shaped the instructional and scenario strategy
• Interviewed healthcare providers to understand roles, barriers, and real patient conversations
• Helped ensure scenarios felt realistic, relevant, and broadly applicable
• Prepared client administrators to manage access and report on usage and performance

The design balanced reflection, realism, and flexibility. Facts established credibility, while stories and practice helped learners connect the material to the human experience behind participation decisions.

• Paired concise patient and physician stories with reflection on personal assumptions and opportunities for change
• Used realistic scenarios to practice difficult conversations in a safe virtual environment
• Built a modular experience that providers could complete incrementally as schedules allowed
• Piloted with selected organizations to measure impact before broader expansion

One scenario centered on a Hispanic construction-company owner experiencing heart problems. His physician had to help him work through the belief that participating in research might signal weakness while also acknowledging the financial impact of missing work.

Other scenarios addressed time, financial strain, cultural and religious reservations, and the biases that contribute to underrepresentation. The goal was not to simplify those barriers, but to help providers understand how trust, context, and communication shape patient decisions.

This was behavior-change work, not just awareness training.

The hardest decisions involved what not to build. We had gathered more strong material than the budget could support, so I helped protect the integrity of the experience while focusing on the topics and interactions most likely to shift mindset and behavior.

The pilot produced promising gains in knowledge, confidence, behavioral intention, and assessment performance. Its success created momentum for an expanded version with additional topics and scenarios, designed for broader client use and greater potential impact.

The project reinforced something I care deeply about: effective learning can help people confront complexity, reconsider assumptions, and approach others differently—not simply transfer information.