Biobank participant support of newborn screening for disorders with variable treatment and intervention options

Women's Choices Regarding Use of Their Newborns' Residual Dried Blood Samples in Research

OBJECTIVE

To determine the proportion of informed choices women made about donating their newborns' blood samples for research.

DESIGN

A quantitative analysis of informed choice using data on women's knowledge and attitudes from a descriptive, cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

The state of Michigan.

PARTICIPANTS

Women (N = 69, ≥18 years old) who had (a) newborns 0 to 3 months of age, (b) yes or no decisions regarding use of the blood sample for research on file, (c) no evidence of an infant death in the state database, (d) completed the knowledge scale, (e) completed the attitude scale, and (f) recalled the decision (i.e., yes or no) about donating blood samples.

METHODS

We used the multidimensional measure of informed choice to calculate the proportion of informed choices in data on women's knowledge, attitudes, and decisions about biospecimen research.

RESULTS

Fifty-five percent (38/69) of participants made informed choices about donating newborn blood samples for research, and 45% made uninformed choices (31/69). Inadequate knowledge about biospecimen research contributed to 87% of uniformed choices (27/31). Participants who declined to donate their newborns' blood samples struggled with making decisions consistent with their values.

CONCLUSION

Nearly half of the participants made uninformed choices about donating the blood samples of their newborns for research. Women need more information about genetics and the storage and research use of newborns' blood samples to make informed choices. Nurses need to be made aware of the ethical, legal, and social implications of such research because they are primary sources of advocacy, information, and support for childbearing women and may be charged with overseeing or obtaining informed consent. Additional research with larger, more diverse samples is needed.

An Assessment of Public Preferences for Newborn Screening Using Best-Worst Scaling

OBJECTIVE

To identify and quantify public preferences for attributes of newborn screening conditions.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted an online national survey of the public (n = 502) to evaluate preferences for attributes of candidate newborn screening conditions. Respondents were presented with hypothetical condition profiles that were defined using 10 attributes with 2-6 levels per attribute. Participants indicated whether they would recommend screening for a condition and which condition attributes were most and least important when making this decision (best-worst scaling). Difference scores were calculated and stratified by condition recommendation (recommend or not recommend for screening). Regression analyses were used to evaluate the effect of attributes on choice to screen or not screen.

RESULTS

The number of babies diagnosed was important to those who would recommend newborn screening for a profile, and age at which the treatment would start was important to those who would not recommend newborn screening. Cost was considered to be a key attribute, and treatment effectiveness and impact of making the diagnosis through newborn screening were of low importance for both groups.

CONCLUSION

Public preferences identified through survey methods that provide an adequate baseline understanding of newborn screening can be used to inform newborn screening decisions.