Table 3.
Factors influencing decision to participate in COVID-19 clinical trials.
| Would the following statements influence your decision to participate in a COVID-19 clinical trial? | No. of “yes” respondents of the total sample (%) (N = 1,576) | Attitude toward participating in a clinical trial | Rho (P-value) | P-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive (%) (n = 909) | Negative (%) (n = 667) | ||||
| A. Positive factors | |||||
| Contributing to the protection of my family from COVID-19 encourages me to participate. | 1,259 (80.5) | 836 (92.4) | 423 (64.2) | 0.40 (<0.001) ** | <0.001 |
| The conduct of clinical trials will be in accordance with the scientific research, and ethical guidelines encourages me to participate. | 1,202 (77.1) | 825 (91.0) | 377 (57.6) | 0.45 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Contributing to the return of normal life encourages me to participate. | 1,187 (76.2) | 810 (89.6) | 377 (57.7) | 0.43 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Contributing to the salvation of humankind from COVID-19 encourages me to participate. | 1,169 (74.9) | 803 (88.5) | 366 (56.0) | 0.43 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Contributing to the protection of my community from COVID-19 encourages me to participate. | 1,151 (73.6) | 794 (87.7 | 357 (54.2) | 0.44 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Receiving additional health care benefits encourages me to participate. | 850 (54.3) | 599 (66.1) | 251 (38.1) | 0.31 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Receiving a financial reward encourages me to participate. | 323 (20.6) | 216 (23.9) | 107 (16.2) | 0.13 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| B. Negative factors | |||||
| The probability of occurrence of negative consequences to my health prevents me from participating in such studies. | 1,054 (67.4) | 528 (58.2) | 526 (80.1) | −0.33 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Having limited information about clinical trials, in general, prevents me from participating in such studies. | 876 (56.5) | 481 (53.3) | 395 (61.0) | −0.13 (<0.001) | 0.003 |
| The possibility that these studies will not be conducted in an ethical manner that follows the required scientific and research methods prevents me from participating in such studies. | 849 (54.5) | 462 (51.2) | 387 (59.1) | −0.11 (<0.001) | 0.002 |
| The possibility of exploiting me and turning into a “lab rat” prevents me from participating in such studies. | 842 (53.9) | 416 (45.9) | 426 (65.0) | −0.24 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Lack of trust in pharmaceutical companies, in general, prevents me from participating in such studies. | 709 (45.5) | 364 (40.3) | 345 (52.8) | −0.17 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Having limited information about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 prevents me from participating in such studies. | 684 (44.0) | 343 (38.0) | 341 (52.4) | −0.15 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| The possibility of violating my privacy (such as if my samples and health data are sent to other centers and countries) prevents me from participating in such studies. | 558 (35.7) | 288 (31.8) | 270 (41.1) | −0.13 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Having limited time prevents me from participating in such studies. | 525 (34.0) | 295 (32.9) | 230 (35.5) | –0.05 (0.06) | 0.28 |
| My family's attitude toward participation in these studies prevents me from participating in such studies. | 523 (33.7) | 277 (30.7) | 246 (37.8) | −0.09 (<0.001) | 0.003 |
| My current medical problems prevent me from participating in such studies. | 425 (27.5) | 224 (24.9) | 201 (30.9) | −0.07 (0.008) | 0.009 |
| Lack of trust in physicians and hospitals, in general, prevents me from participating in such studies. | 424 (27.2) | 186 (20.6) | 238 (36.4) | −0.19 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Lack of trust in researchers and scientists, in general, prevents me from participating in such studies. | 321 (20.7) | 142 (15.7) | 179 (27.5) | −0.15 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| Lack of conviction about the value and benefits of these trials prevents me from participating in such studies. | 283 (18.3) | 135 (15.0) | 148 (22.9) | −0.10 (<0.001) | <0.001 |
| My religious beliefs toward participation in these studies prevent me from participating in such studies. | 156 (10.0) | 86 (9.5) | 70 (10.7) | –0.01 (0.58) | 0.46 |
| Customs and traditions in my community prevent me from participating in such studies | 151 (9.7) | 75 (8.3) | 76 (11.7) | –0.04 (0.09) | 0.03 |
*
This P-value is based on Chi-square test.
**
Bold values indicate significant P values (<0.05).