Measuring the geographical accessibility of scar and tissue healing clinical studies: A retrospective clinicaltrials.gov study

Summary: Abstract Body: Improving functional and cosmetic procedures for patients that have wounds remains a critical area of study. The impact of geographical proximity to scar and tissue healing on participation and diversity in clinical studies for scar and healing is less understood. Therefore, this study focuses on evaluating the accessibility to clinical studies to help inform recruitment strategies. Using the ClinicalTrials.gov API, we extracted clinical study data from 2005-2024 using the keywords “scar and tissue healing”. The distances were calculated between zip code populations using K-d tree and the Haversine formula. ZIP codes were categorized as rural or urban using Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes. Racial demographics by ZIP code were analyzed to assess proximity disparities. A total of 596 clinical studies were identified, with an average of 1.85 clinical studies per each ZIP code. From 2005 to 2024, there was a decrease in distance to clinical trial sties over time (slope:-9.04, p=2.71e−03). American Indians had longer average distance to clinical trial sites (43.5 miles, 95% CI: 32.5–44.6) compared to Pacific Islanders (33.0 miles, 95% CI: 31.8–34.3), Whites (32.4 miles, 95% CI: 31.8–33.1), Blacks (21.6 miles, 95% CI: 22.1–22.1), and Asians (16.4 miles, 95% CI: 15.9–17.0) (p<0.0001). A similar trend was prevalent in micropolitan, small town, and rural-areas (p<0.001). Limitations include the study’s retrospective design, reliance on publicly available data, and variability in ClinicalTrials.gov updates. Overall, while accessibility to scar and wound studies has improved, certain races continue to face the longest distances to trial sites, highlighting persistent inequities. Addressing these disparities is crucial for equitable clinical trial participation and access to emerging therapies. Dev Patel¹, Dany Alkurdi¹, Naeha Pathak¹, Xavier Bear¹, Ezdean Alkurdi³, Omar Alani¹, Shiven Sharma¹, Shari Lipner² 1. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States. 2. Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States. 3. University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States. Clinical Research: Epidemiology and Observational Research