Walmart Healthcare Research Institute will open clinical research sites this spring in three former Walmart Health locations and one rural Walmart store, the company announced Jan. 22.
The sites, operated in collaboration with Care Access, an independent clinical research organization, will have on-site teams offering health screenings and information about research opportunities.
The initiative aims to bring clinical research closer to communities where opportunities are often concentrated far from the people they are meant to serve.
For many families, participating in clinical research has been less about willingness and more about practicality, with long distances, limited awareness and competing responsibilities making it out of reach.
“Clinical research should feel practical and approachable, not distant or intimidating, especially for communities that have had difficulty participating in opportunities for innovative treatments,” said Dr. Emily Aaronson, chief medical officer at Walmart.
Removing barriers to research participation
Care Access clinical teams will share information about research opportunities and provide health screenings at these locations.
The sites build on WHRI’s free mobile health screening events and create a more consistent local presence for research engagement.
Bringing research into familiar community settings helps remove barriers while offering potential early access to innovative treatments and therapies.
For some participants, research can offer additional options when standard approaches are limited. For all, it provides an opportunity to contribute to beneficial medical advances.
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