Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Clinical Trial Participation in Oman: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: Clinical trials are prospective studies on human subjects designed to answer various clinical questions. However, only a limited number of clinical trials have been conducted in Oman. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of Omani patients and their relatives towards participating in clinical trials. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2015 and March 2016 among 174 patients and relatives attending the Haematology and Oncology Outpatient Clinics and Day Care Unit of the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to elicit participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards participation in clinical trials. Results: A total of 100 patients and relatives agreed to take part in the study (response rate: 57.5%). The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.2. Only 31.3% of the studied population knew what clinical trials were and only 6.5% had themselves previously participated in a clinical trial. The majority agreed or strongly agreed that they would participate in clinical trials related to their own condition (59.2%). Overall, 89.7% expected to be informed about potential clinical trials by their treating physicians. Conclusion: Omanis had a low level of knowledge of clinical trials and a very low rate of previous participation in such trials, despite a moderate level of interest. Patients should therefore be educated and informed of ongoing clinical trials in order to improve participation rates for clinical trials conducted in Oman. Keywords

Attitude of Asian Parkinson Patients towards Clinical Research and Tissue Donation

“…More than three-quarter of the participants in our study expected their treating doctors to inform them of the available clinical research options pertinent to their illness, which is in accordance with literature [1,18]. Patients are also more likely to take part if invited by their trusted physicians [6].…”

“…Despite understanding the possible risks involved, our study revealed that 48% of patients were willing to participate in clinical research, with an even higher number of patients willing to contribute blood (72%) or urine/stool (71%). As opposed to the Omani, Saudi, and Indian patients, the Singaporean population was found to be better aware and educated about research [1,2,6,10]. Participants understood the importance of research in development of current medical knowledge, and majority trusted medical facilities in guarding their safety and privacy, whereas previous Asian studies have identified a general mistrust towards government and medical facilities in conducting ethical research and protecting patient confidentiality [7,11].…”

“…is could be attributed to their concerns about the disease and its progression as well as their hope that better treatment strategies could be discovered in their lifetime. Many studies done previously in this regard highlighted the patients' desire of wanting to know the results of the studies they participated in [1,8,17,18]. A study by Christopher et al showed that the nonpublication of trial results goes against the patients' motive of altruism or helping advance medical knowledge [17].…”

“…is continues to be a prevalent challenge against advancement of medical knowledge through research. Recently observed trends have depicted low rates of participation in clinical research and tissue donation, especially amongst Asian populations [1][2][3].…”

“…Often cited reasons for not participating in research studies include (1) inconvenience and discomfort, (2) lack of trust on trial medicines, treating doctors, or hospital facilities, (3) lack of information about research, (4) family's refusal to allow participation, and (5) uncertainty or fear of the unknown [4,5]. Asian countries such as Oman, Saudi Arabia, and India showed interest rates of 59%, 30%, and 46%, respectively, for participation in clinical research [1,2,6]. A comprehensive review by Wai et al has summarized the findings of 18 different studies that evaluated experiences of patients regarding their prior research participation and the influence of that on consenting to reuse of leftover tissues for future research.…”