Attitudes on clinical research participation of community living elders in Korea

Abstract

Introduction The development of medical knowledge has involved increasing numbers of clinical studies, including trials of treatment modalities among elderly individuals. We evaluated knowledge about and attitudes on participation in various clinical trials among elderly individuals. Methods A semi-structured survey was developed and distributed to community-living elders who agreed to participate in the Ansan Geriatric Study. Survey items addressed (i) the process of acquiring consent, (ii) the advantages of participation in clinical trials, (iii) worries about participation, (iv) clinical field trials in which they would like to participate, and (v) reasons behind participation. Results A total of 361 individuals (158 women and 203 men, mean age 71.1 years) agreed to answer the survey about clinical trials. The reported advantages of participation in clinical trials were access to cost-free medication or interventions (44.9%), prevention or early diagnosis of possible future diseases (23.8%), diagnostic and laboratory tests at no charge (14.7%), and contribution to human wellbeing (13.3) The reported disadvantages were the possibility of side-effects from the new treatments (32.1%), giving blood for frequent laboratory tests (28.5%), concerns about intrusions on human dignity (9.9%), and possible leakage of personal identifying data (8.6%). An additional 10.8% saw no disadvantages. Subjects were interested in participating in clinical field trials for interventions or medication to treat metabolic syndrome and medical diseases (43.5%), Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases (11.1%), late-life depression (2.5%). Although more than two-thirds (77.3%) of the subjects believed that they should provide consent for themselves, some believed that their spouses (14.4%) or other family members (8.3%) should be able to receive the explanation of the clinical trial and sign the informed consent forms. Discussion We should consider the attitudes of elderly participants during the processes of explaining clinical trials and acquiring consent.