Research Abstract:

In developmental and neuroscience research, many studies are designed to understand disparities of, and differences in, child outcomes among children across different socioeconomic classes. To carry out these studies, researchers must successfully recruit subjects from varying backgrounds. However, a common challenge faced by researchers is recruiting and retaining participants from lower resourced and minority populations. This results in developmental and neuroscience research to be heavily dominated by white, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) populations. There are several barriers that prevent people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds from participating in research studies that have not been adequately addressed. Examples of these barriers include lack of financial support, child care, transportation, and knowledge regarding the study, and therefore, a hesitance to partake in it. Additionally, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected lower resourced minorities, presenting new barriers to participating in remote research studies which have not been studied over the past year.

Thus, our research question asks what the most prevalent barriers, exacerbated by COVID-19, that primary caregivers' face when participating in research studies. Due to the many limitations that are not addressed by studies, this project is designed to understand the multitude of barriers that primary caregivers of infants or young children encounter when engaging in research studies. We anticipate that generating data regarding the most prevalent barriers caregivers encounter will help us design a future study to uncover efficient solutions that mitigate these barriers, and promote inclusivity and accessibility among New York City residents.