Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research?

Many assumptions are made about public willingness to participate in epidemiological research, yet few empirical studies have been conducted to ascertain whether such assumptions are correct. Our qualitative study of the public and of expert stakeholders leads us to suggest that people are generally...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Slegers, C., Zion, D., Glass, D., Kelsall, H., Fritschi, Lin, Brown, N., Loff, B.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50110
_version_ 1848758396219555840
author Slegers, C.
Zion, D.
Glass, D.
Kelsall, H.
Fritschi, Lin
Brown, N.
Loff, B.
author_facet Slegers, C.
Zion, D.
Glass, D.
Kelsall, H.
Fritschi, Lin
Brown, N.
Loff, B.
author_sort Slegers, C.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Many assumptions are made about public willingness to participate in epidemiological research, yet few empirical studies have been conducted to ascertain whether such assumptions are correct. Our qualitative study of the public and of expert stakeholders leads us to suggest that people are generally prepared to participate in epidemiological research, particularly if it is conducted by a trusted public institution such as a government health department, charity, or university. However, there is widespread community distrust of research conducted or sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. Individuals are prompted to take part if the study concerns an illness they or a family member or friend have personally experienced or if they believe the research will confer a widespread public benefit. Preferences vary about the mode of contact for the research to be conducted. Willingness to participate in telephone surveys has decreased in recent years, and this may be a consequence of an increase in calls to homes by telemarketers and market researchers. Participants also stressed the importance of knowing where their names and contact details were sourced and suggested that this information be available to prospective study participants as a matter of course in the first approach or letter. We provide valuable information to epidemiologists in designing studies.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:43:19Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-50110
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:43:19Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Springer
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-501102017-09-13T15:47:54Z Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research? Slegers, C. Zion, D. Glass, D. Kelsall, H. Fritschi, Lin Brown, N. Loff, B. Many assumptions are made about public willingness to participate in epidemiological research, yet few empirical studies have been conducted to ascertain whether such assumptions are correct. Our qualitative study of the public and of expert stakeholders leads us to suggest that people are generally prepared to participate in epidemiological research, particularly if it is conducted by a trusted public institution such as a government health department, charity, or university. However, there is widespread community distrust of research conducted or sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. Individuals are prompted to take part if the study concerns an illness they or a family member or friend have personally experienced or if they believe the research will confer a widespread public benefit. Preferences vary about the mode of contact for the research to be conducted. Willingness to participate in telephone surveys has decreased in recent years, and this may be a consequence of an increase in calls to homes by telemarketers and market researchers. Participants also stressed the importance of knowing where their names and contact details were sourced and suggested that this information be available to prospective study participants as a matter of course in the first approach or letter. We provide valuable information to epidemiologists in designing studies. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50110 10.1007/s11673-015-9611-2 Springer restricted
spellingShingle Slegers, C.
Zion, D.
Glass, D.
Kelsall, H.
Fritschi, Lin
Brown, N.
Loff, B.
Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research?
title Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research?
title_full Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research?
title_fullStr Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research?
title_full_unstemmed Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research?
title_short Why Do People Participate in Epidemiological Research?
title_sort why do people participate in epidemiological research?
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50110