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. 2015 Oct 5:15:1017.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-2350-9.

A telephone survey of factors affecting willingness to participate in health research surveys

D C Glass  1 , H L Kelsall  2 , C Slegers  3 , A B Forbes  4 , B Loff  5 , D Zion  6 , L Fritschi  7
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A telephone survey of factors affecting willingness to participate in health research surveys

D C Glass et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: In recent years, reduced participation has been encountered across all epidemiological study designs, both in terms of non-response as well as refusal. A low response rate may reduce the statistical power but, more importantly, results may not be generalizable to the wider community.

Methods: In a telephone survey of 1413 randomly selected members of the Australian general population and of 690 participants sourced from previous studies, we examined factors affecting people's stated willingness to participate in health research.

Results: The majority of participants (61 %) expressed willingness to participate in health research in general but the percentage increased when provided with more specific information about the research. People were more willing if they have personal experience of the disease under study, and if the study was funded by government or charity rather than pharmaceutical companies. Participants from previous studies, older people and women were the groups most willing to participate. Younger men preferred online surveys, older people a written questionnaire, and few participants in any age and sex groups preferred a telephone questionnaire.

Conclusion: Despite a trend toward reduced participation rates, most participants expressed their willingness to participate in health research. However, when seeking participants, researchers should be concrete and specific about the nature of the research they want to carry out. The preferred method of recommended contact varies with the demographic characteristics.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Percent of the general population participants who were willing to take part in health research, by whether they would receive a summary of results, by how their name/phone number had been identified (4 options), by method of study funding (3 options), by reason for the research (3 options) and by whether the person had direct experience/knowledge of the disease being investigated
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