Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UK

Introduction Pregnant women have been historically excluded from interventional research. While recent efforts have been made to improve their involvement, there remains a disparity in the evidence base for treatments available to pregnant women compared with the non-pregnant population. A significa...

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Main Authors: Christine E Jones, Robert C Read, Tushna Vandrevala, Anastasia A Theodosiou, Robert B Dorey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2023-12-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/12/e073992.full
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author Christine E Jones
Robert C Read
Tushna Vandrevala
Anastasia A Theodosiou
Robert B Dorey
author_facet Christine E Jones
Robert C Read
Tushna Vandrevala
Anastasia A Theodosiou
Robert B Dorey
author_sort Christine E Jones
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Pregnant women have been historically excluded from interventional research. While recent efforts have been made to improve their involvement, there remains a disparity in the evidence base for treatments available to pregnant women compared with the non-pregnant population. A significant barrier to the enrolment of pregnant women within research is risk perception and a poor understanding of decision-making in this population.Objective Assess the risk perception and influences on decision-making in pregnant women, when considering whether to enrol in a hypothetical interventional research study.Design Semistructured interviews were undertaken, and thematic analysis was undertaken of participant responses.Participants Twelve pregnant women were enrolled from an antenatal outpatient clinic.Results Participants were unanimously positive about enrolling in the proposed hypothetical interventional study. Risk perception was influenced by potential risks to their fetus and their previous experiences of healthcare and research. Participants found the uncertainty in quantifying risk for new research interventions challenging. They were motivated to enrol in research by altruism and found less invasive research interventions more tolerable.Conclusion It is vital to understand how pregnant women balance the perceived risks and benefits of interventional research. This may help clinicians and scientists better communicate risk to pregnant women and address the ongoing under-representation of pregnant women in interventional research.
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spelling doaj-art-813fc32ae50842c5b662bc4fc01c8eba2025-08-20T02:11:24ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552023-12-01131210.1136/bmjopen-2023-073992Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UKChristine E Jones0Robert C Read1Tushna Vandrevala2Anastasia A Theodosiou3Robert B Dorey4NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UKClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UKPsychology, Kingston University, Kingston-Upon-Thames, UK1 Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, UKClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UKIntroduction Pregnant women have been historically excluded from interventional research. While recent efforts have been made to improve their involvement, there remains a disparity in the evidence base for treatments available to pregnant women compared with the non-pregnant population. A significant barrier to the enrolment of pregnant women within research is risk perception and a poor understanding of decision-making in this population.Objective Assess the risk perception and influences on decision-making in pregnant women, when considering whether to enrol in a hypothetical interventional research study.Design Semistructured interviews were undertaken, and thematic analysis was undertaken of participant responses.Participants Twelve pregnant women were enrolled from an antenatal outpatient clinic.Results Participants were unanimously positive about enrolling in the proposed hypothetical interventional study. Risk perception was influenced by potential risks to their fetus and their previous experiences of healthcare and research. Participants found the uncertainty in quantifying risk for new research interventions challenging. They were motivated to enrol in research by altruism and found less invasive research interventions more tolerable.Conclusion It is vital to understand how pregnant women balance the perceived risks and benefits of interventional research. This may help clinicians and scientists better communicate risk to pregnant women and address the ongoing under-representation of pregnant women in interventional research.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/12/e073992.full
spellingShingle Christine E Jones
Robert C Read
Tushna Vandrevala
Anastasia A Theodosiou
Robert B Dorey
Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UK
BMJ Open
title Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UK
title_full Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UK
title_fullStr Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UK
title_full_unstemmed Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UK
title_short Qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the UK
title_sort qualitative interview study exploring the perspectives of pregnant women on participating in controlled human infection research in the uk
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/12/e073992.full
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