Investigating demographic differences in patients’ decisions to consent to COVID-19 research

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics of patients who consented to versus declined participation in the CARES study.

Patient demographics
	Study participants, N = 89	Patients who declined to participate (n = 69)	Significance
Race
Black	12 (13.5%)	16 (23.2%)	p = .031
White	44 (49.4%)	22 (31.9%)	p = .026
Other	29 (32.6%)	29 (42.0%)	p = .059
Asian	4 (4.5%)	2 (2.9%)	p = 1
Hispanic or Latino			p = .423
Yes	37 (41.6%)	33 (47.8%)
No	52 (58.4%)	36 (52.2%)
Primary language
English	61 (68.5%)	39 (56.5%)	p = .148
Spanish	19 (21.3%)	22 (31.9%)	p = .111
Portuguese	4 (4.5%)	4 (5.8%)	p = .541
Other	5 (5.6%)	4 (5.8%)	p = .933
Insurance type			p = .049
Public	51 (57.3%)	50 (72.5%)
Private	38 (42.7%)	19 (27.5%)

Race was compared to White race and language was compared to English. White race was compared to non-White race. English language was compared to non-English language. Significant comparisons are bolded. There is a significant difference when comparing Black and White race between groups (p = .031) and when comparing White and non-White race between groups (p = .026). Individuals with Black race or non-White race were less likely to consent to participation. There is also a significant difference between insurance type between the two groups (p = .049). Individuals with public insurance were less likely to consent to participation.

Table 2. Comparison of demographics between patients who consented to the CARES study compared with CDC data of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who are female and between the ages of 18 and 49.

Patient demographics
	Study participants	County cases	State cases	National cases
Race
Black	12 (20%)	3345 (11.1%)	36,075 (14.8%)	1,683,927 (18.5%)
White	44 (73.3%)	25,037 (83.4%)	189,156 (77.7%)	6,925,044 (76.0%)
Asian	4 (6.7%)	1632 (5.4%)	18,272 (7.5%)	501,028 (5.5%)
Hispanic or Latino
Yes	37 (41.6%)	4073 (13.3%)	27,795 (12.4%)	1,645,709 (18.6%)
No	52 (58.4%)	26,514 (86.7%)	195,567 (87.6%)	7,208,791 (81.4%)

County refers to Worcester, MA. State refers to Massachusetts. Nation refers to the United States of America. There is a significant difference when comparing Black and White race only between study and county groups (p = .025). Patients with Black race represented a larger population in our study than in county cases. There is no significant difference when comparing Black and White race between our study data and state or national data. Our study had a significantly higher representation of Hispanic patients compared to county, state, and national data.