Patient perceptions of participation in emergency medicine research projects.

Objective: To determine if ED research reflects patient expectations.

Method: A cross-sectional ED patient survey.

Results: Three hundred and nine (98.1%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 95.7-99.2) of 315 patients believed that ED research was important. Two hundred and twelve (68.4%, 95% CI 62.9-73.5) would welcome involvement, only 26 (8.4%, 95% CI 5.7-12.3) felt pressured to do so. Two hundred and thirty-one (75.7%, 95% CI 70.5-80.4) and 279 (91.5%, 95% CI 87.6-94.3) believed consent was necessary for observational and experimental studies, respectively. One hundred and one (32.4%, 95% CI 27.3-37.9) disagreed with medical records being accessed without consent.

Conclusion: Patient expectations are not always consistent with current practice. The expectation of consent prior to record access is worthy of further consideration.