Understanding motivations to participate in an observational research study: Why do patients enroll?

ABSTRACT

By understanding common motivations for participating in observational research studies, clinicians may better understand the perceived benefits of research participation from their clients’ perspective. We enrolled 164 cardiac patients in a study about the effects of gratitude and optimism. Two weeks post-enrollment, participants completed a four-item questionnaire regarding motivations for study enrollment. Altruistic motivation ranked highest, while intellectual, health-related, and financial motivations rated lower. Four subgroups of participants emerged, each with distinct characteristics and different priorities for participating. These findings may help front-line clinicians to understand which motivations for participation apply to their clients who enroll in non-treatment-based research projects.

KEYWORDS:

• Cardiac
• motivation
• observational
• recruitment
• research participation

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Arianna Belcher, BA; Parul Gandhi, MD; and Shweta Motiwala, MD; and the other clinical and support staff in the MGH Heart Center.

Funding

This research and analysis time were funded by the Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude Project run by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center in partnership with UC Davis with funding from the John Templeton Foundation (grant ID 15627) to JH. Analysis and editing time was also supported by NIH grant R01HL113272 to JH. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the funders.

Additional information

Funding

This research and analysis time were funded by the Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude Project run by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center in partnership with UC Davis with funding from the John Templeton Foundation (grant ID 15627) to JH. Analysis and editing time was also supported by NIH grant R01HL113272 to JH. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the funders.