Perceptions, attitudes, and willingness of the public in low- and middle-income countries of the Arab region to participate in biobank research

Assessment of biobank awareness among medical students in Iran

BACKGROUND

Despite the rise of research biobanks in the Middle East, they continue to struggle with the limited number of donors. Although qualified healthcare professionals may address it, the awareness of biobanks among future physicians is low. This paper assesses the attitudes towards research biobanks among Iranian medical students.

METHODS

459 medical students completed an anonymous self-administered online questionnaire regarding the knowledge and attitudes of future physicians towards biobanking.

RESULTS

This study demonstrates that almost half of the students had not heard about biobanks, and one-third had mixed feelings about biobank research. The majority declared a willingness to share their biological material for biobank research and declared altruistic motivation. Students' willingness to donate was influenced by the type of tissues, the purpose of biobank research and trust in biobanks, which influenced their preference for a study-specific consent model. Students expressed concern over biospecimens' unethical or commercial use and data safety.

CONCLUSION

This research shows that promoting knowledge about biobank-based research among future physicians in Iran is crucial.

Public awareness, attitudes, and motivation toward biobanks: a survey of China

BACKGROUND

Biobanks are vital for advancing medical research, and public participation is a crucial determinant of their success. This study uses a survey to assess the awareness, attitudes, and motivation of the public in China with regard to participating in biobanks.

METHODS

We conducted an online survey that yielded 616 responses from participants with diverse demographic backgrounds. The survey included questions on the respondents' awareness of biobanks, their attitudes toward them, their preferences with regard to consent, and their concerns.

RESULTS

The results of the survey revealed that 57.95% of the respondents were aware of biobanks. Altruism was the respondents' primary motivation for participation in biobanks. Their preferences for models of consent varied. The respondents raised concerns about the commercialization of biobanks (56.66%) and data privacy (55.84%). Notably, only 37.01% of the respondents were concerned about the risk of discrimination in biobanks, where this was lower compared with the results for populations in Western countries.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides valuable insights into the Chinese public's awareness of and attitudes toward biobanks. To foster public trust and enhance participation, biobanks should prioritize transparent and continual communication to ensure that the participants are well informed about the use and protection of the samples that they have donated. Future research should explore the influence of cultural nuances to develop strategies that address specific concerns and ethical challenges in the context of public participation in biobanks.

Willingness of population health survey participants to provide personal health information and biological samples

BACKGROUND

Biological sample collection and data linkage can expand the utility of population health surveys. The present study investigates factors associated with population health survey respondents' willingness to provide biological samples and personal health information.

METHODS

Using data from the 2019 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Monitor survey (n = 2,827), we examined participants' willingness to provide blood samples, saliva samples, probabilistic linkage, and direct linkage with personal health information. Associations of willingness to provide such information with socio-demographic, substance use, and mental health details were also examined. Question order effects were tested using a randomized trial.

RESULTS

The proportion of respondents willing to provide blood samples, saliva samples, probabilistic linkage, and direct linkage with personal health information were 19.9%, 36.2%, 82.1%, and 17%, respectively. Willingness significantly varied by age, race, employment, non-medical prescription opioid use (past year), cocaine use (lifetime), and psychological distress. Significant question order effects were observed. Respondents were more likely to be willing to provide a saliva sample when this question was asked first compared to first being asked for direct data linkage. Similarly, respondents were more likely to be willing to allow for probabilistic data linkage when this question was asked first compared to first being asked for a saliva sample.

CONCLUSION

A lack of willingness to provide biological samples or permit data linkage may lead to representivity issues in studies which rely on such information. The presence of question order effects suggests that the willingness of respondents can be increased through strategic ordering of survey structures.

Health data sharing attitudes towards primary and secondary use of data: a systematic review

Background

To receive the best care, people share their health data (HD) with their health practitioners (known as sharing HD for primary purposes). However, during the past two decades, sharing for other (i.e., secondary) purposes has become of great importance in numerous fields, including public health, personalized medicine, research, and development. We aimed to conduct the first comprehensive overview of all studies that investigated people's HD sharing attitudes-along with associated barriers/motivators and significant influencing factors-for all data types and across both primary and secondary uses.

Methods

We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE, and CINAHL for relevant studies published in English between database inception and February 28, 2023, using a predefined set of keywords. Studies were included, regardless of their design, if they reported outcomes related to attitudes towards sharing HD. We extracted key data from the included studies, including the type of HD involved and findings related to: HD sharing attitudes (either in general or depending on type of data/user); barriers/motivators/benefits/concerns of the study participants; and sociodemographic and other variables that could impact HD sharing behaviour. The qualitative synthesis was conducted by dividing the studies according to the data type (resulting in five subgroups) as well as the purpose the data sharing was focused on (primary, secondary or both). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of non-randomised studies. This work was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42023413822.

Findings

Of 2109 studies identified through our search, 116 were included in the qualitative synthesis, yielding a total of 228,501 participants and various types of HD represented: person-generated HD (n = 17 studies and 10,771 participants), personal HD in general (n = 69 studies and 117,054 participants), Biobank data (n = 7 studies and 27,073 participants), genomic data (n = 13 studies and 54,716 participants), and miscellaneous data (n = 10 studies and 18,887 participants). The majority of studies had a moderate level of quality (83 [71.6%] of 116 studies), but varying levels of quality were observed across the included studies. Overall, studies suggest that sharing intentions for primary purposes were observed to be high regardless of data type, and it was higher than sharing intentions for secondary purposes. Sharing for secondary purposes yielded variable findings, where both the highest and the lowest intention rates were observed in the case of studies that explored sharing biobank data (98% and 10%, respectively). Several influencing factors on sharing intentions were identified, such as the type of data recipient, data, consent. Further, concerns related to data sharing that were found to be mutual for all data types included privacy, security, and data access/control, while the perceived benefits included those related to improvements in healthcare. Findings regarding attitudes towards sharing varied significantly across sociodemographic factors and depended on data type and type of use. In most cases, these findings were derived from single studies and therefore warrant confirmations from additional studies.

Interpretation

Sharing health data is a complex issue that is influenced by various factors (the type of health data, the intended use, the data recipient, among others) and these insights could be used to overcome barriers, address people's concerns, and focus on spreading awareness about the data sharing process and benefits.

Funding

None.

All you Need is Trust? Public Perspectives on Consenting to Participate in Genomic Research in the Sri Lankan District of Colombo

Engagement with genomic medicine and research has increased globally during the past few decades, including rapid developments in Sri Lanka. Genomic research is carried out in Sri Lanka on a variety of scales and with different aims and perspectives. However, there are concerns about participants' understanding of genomic research, including the validity of informed consent. This article reports a qualitative study aiming to explore the understanding, knowledge, and attitudes of the Sri Lankan public towards genomic medicine and to inform the development of an effective and appropriate process for informed consent in that setting. Purposive sampling was employed. Participants were recruited from a sub-group of the public in Colombo, Sri Lanka who had either consented or refused to donate genetic material for a biobank. Data were collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and translated into English. Conventional content analysis was used. The analysis developed three key themes: a) 'Scientific literacy' describes an apparent lack of scientific knowledge that seems to affect a participant's ability to understand the research, b) 'Motivation' describes narratives about why participants chose (not) to take part in the research, despite not understanding it, and c) 'Trust' describes how trust served to mitigate the apparent ethical deficit created by not being fully informed. In this article, we argue that informed trust is likely an acceptable basis for consent, particularly in settings where scientific literacy might be low. However, researchers must work to be worthy of that trust and ensure that misconceptions are actively addressed.

A conceptual analysis of public opinion regarding genome research in Japan

In the 20 years since the completion of the Human Genome Project, the gap between scientific development and public understanding of genome research has been widening. While genome research has been increasingly utilized for social and clinical purposes in a multifaceted manner, this has resulted in an increase in the potential risks associated with genomic data. In this context, our study aims to consider the nature of public perceptions of genome research, primarily by using as a case study the results of previous public surveys relevant to donations for social benefits in Japan. We explored certain types of awareness, attitude, and intention (A-A-I) in such surveys and discussed the resultant key findings through the cultural transmission framework. Reframing the public's response toward genome research based on A-A-I analysis and behavioral science may contribute to developing more systematic communication approaches with the public. With a view to establishing such approaches, our perspective suggests some new insights to discuss the science-society gap in genome research internationally.

Attitude towards donation of the excised foreskin after circumcision surgery for research: A study from Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Studies have shown the possibility of using the part of the foreskin removed after circumcision in the field of scientific and therapeutic research. Donations of tissues and organs are always associated with ethical challenges posed by bioethicists and societies to ensure the appropriate use of these tissues/organs. The purpose of this study was to understand the attitudes and awareness of parents/guardians regarding donation of excised foreskin to research and medical use. The study was based on a questionnaire and included 133 parents/guardians who visited Uhud Children's Hospital in Madinah, Saudi Arabia for newborn male circumcision. The results showed a high willingness (61.7%) to donate the extracted foreskin to research. The willingness to donate the extracted foreskin to research associated with undergraduate degree (P = 0.018), male sex (P = 0.011), high income (P = 0.029), and participation in previous research studies (P = 0.002). About 41.8% were convinced that written informed consent should be obtained before circumcision surgery, 38.1% (n = 51) were convinced that written informed consent should be taken after surgery, while the remaining 19.4% reported that the timing of written informed consent is unimportant. Finally, fear of excision of excess tissue (74.5%), lack of confidence in the research (68.6%), and potential for commercial use (64.7%) were the main barriers to unwillingness to donate the excised foreskin for research. In conclusion, a reasonable portion of Saudis agreed to donate their foreskin for research purposes. There is an urgent need to enhance awareness and attitudes towards tissue donation for research and therapeutic use.