Why do people participate in epidemiological research?

Many assumptions are made about public willingness to participate in epidemiological research, yet few empirical studies have been conducted to ascertain whether such assumptions are correct. Our qualitative study of the public and of expert stakeholders leads us to suggest that people are generally prepared to participate in epidemiological research, particularly if it is conducted by a trusted public institution such as a government health department, charity, or university. However, there is widespread community distrust of research conducted or sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.

A cross-sectional survey to investigate community understanding of medical research ethics committees.

Study explanatory forms often state that an ethics committee has approved a research project. To determine whether the lay community understand the roles of ethics committees in research, we took a cross-sectional national sample from three sampling frames: the general population (n=1532); cohort study participants (n=397); and case-control study participants (n=151). About half (51.

Access to the Commonwealth electoral roll for medical research.

In the 2010-11 financial 2013, there was a dramatic reduction in the approvals granted by the Australian Electoral Commission for access to samples of the adult population derived from the electoral roll for the purposes of public health research. Much time and effort has been expended in making applications without success. Researchers refused access to electoral roll samples must rely on sampling methods that are not as robust and that may produce less reliable data.