SCAMP Study Findings: Why People Do and Don’t Take Part in Health Research

07 Oct 2020

In Spring 2018, we did research with some SCAMP parents and other members of the public to discuss the enablers and barriers to taking part in health research like the SCAMP study, and to develop solutions together to overcome these barriers. We hosted focus groups, conversations via telephone, a community event and a stall at a science festival to hear why Black Minority Ethnic and seldom heard groups were less likely to take part in health research.
We found that one of the main enablers to take part in research was the value of the research to the person involved. Most parents thought it was beneficial for their child to take part in research, for example to learn about science and data and give a better understanding of the idea of consent. The other enabler was the benefit of research to others.
People were less likely to take part in health research or let children take part if they had concerns about the research such as suspicion of researchers and security of data. Practical constraints were another barrier – not having time or not being interested in the research. The last barrier was concerns about communication relating to research, such as issues of language barriers or long forms.
Solutions that were developed by the different groups included community support – a positive description of the research by trusted advocates such as the local GP and schools – and clear, simple communication.
We then hosted an event for researchers and members of the public to discuss these findings and apply them to other people’s research, in order to learn from these important ideas.

What do you think of these benefits of taking part and concerns? What would you say about these having taken part in the SCAMP study? Can you think of other solutions? Feel free to email us your thoughts about this research at SCAMP@imperial.ac.uk

You can read the full article here: SCAMP Health Research