Abstract
Background: Historically, racial minorities and women are less likely to participate in medical research than are whites and men. Although much is known about barriers to enrollment for those who decline to participate, much less is known about factors that motivate those who choose to enroll. Objective: This study examines the reasons for participation in pregnancy outcomes research and determines whether these reasons varied by race. Methods: Right From The Start is an ongoing prospective cohort study. Pregnant women aged ≥18 years, who enrolled in and completed the study between December 2000 and June 2003, were interviewed by telephone at the conclusion of their participation and asked about motivators for enrolling. Univariate and bivariate statistics were used to determine the relationship between self-identified race and main reason for participating in the study. Logistic regression was used to adjust for the influence of age, gravidity, education, marital status, and income. Results: A total of 1106 women were interviewed: 735 (66.5%) whites; 28 5 (25.8%) blacks; 30 (2.7%) Hispanics; and 56 (5.1%) others (Asians, Pacific Islanders). Black women listed a free ultrasound (73/247, 29.6%), contribution to medical knowledge (60/247, 24.3%), wanting to learn about pregnancy health (46/247, 18.6%), and concern about pregnancy health (30.247, 12.1%) as their main reason for participation. Black women were significantly less likely than white women to cite contribution to medical knowledge as the main reason for participation (odds ratio [OR] = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.36-0.63). Blacks were more likely than whites to list wanting to learn about pregnancy health (OR = 3.12; 95% CI, 1.88-5.55) or concern about pregnancy health (OR = 3.0; 95% CI, 1.56-5.94), even after adjusting for age, gravidity, pregnancy loss, education, marital status, and income. Conclusions: Access to free pregnancy ultrasounds and contribution to medical knowledge were important motivators for both white and black women. However, whereas black women were more likely to report concerns about pregnancy health or pregnancy health education as the main reason for participation, white women were more likely to report a desire to contribute to medical knowledge.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 166-173 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Gender Medicine |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2005 |
Funding
The authors would like to thank the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, Rockville, Maryland, for funding this report (#R01 HDO43883-OIA1). We would also like to thank the RFTS project (funded by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Denver, Colorado, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; training grant #ES07018); Amy Herring, Philip Singer, and Howard Weinberg for their many contributions; study coordinators Jessica Gorman, Kerri Kruse, Andrea Lindsay, Berta Stratton, and Annette Thompkins; recruiters Anne Brewer, Janet Silber, Jude Williams, and Deb Wood; research assistants Tara O'Hearn-Bristol, Tammi Herring, Ginger Moore, and Anna Stephenson; graduate research assistants Ronna Chan, Jessica Conser, Sara Eslinger, Lisa Biddle, Amy Lowman, and Sally Scott; computer programmers Tom Goodwin and Yanfang Jiang; and others who contributed their time, Penelope Howards and Joanne Promislow. We also appreciate the assistance of the obstetric clinics and staff who recruited study participants, and the obstetrical care providers who conducted the study ultrasounds.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Ginger Moore | |
| Tammi Herring | |
| National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences | 07018 |
| NIH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research | 01 HDO43883-OIA1 |
| American Water Works Association Research Foundation | |
| Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development | R01HD043883 |
Keywords
- Enrollment
- Motivators for participation
- Pregnancy research
- Racial differences
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gender Studies