Attitudes of health-care providers towards research with newborn babies

ABSTRACT CONTEXT: By providing information and possibly shaping parents' preferences, health-care providers are thought to play a critical role in parental decisions to enroll their

infants in research. Yet, little is known about health-care providers' beliefs about research with newborns. Previous studies suggest that parents and health-care providers are often at

odds regarding attitudes towards research. OBJECTIVE: To examine the attitudes of health-care providers concerning the acceptability of research with newborn babies and the degree of

research-related risk to which they would be willing to expose their own infant. These findings were compared with a previous study of parental attitudes. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A

survey (pretested questionnaire with 20 scaled items and five case scenarios) of 50 doctors and 64 nurses conducted in a large tertiary care center in western Canada. RESULTS: Study

limitations were a response rate of 64.5% among nurses but only 22% among physicians. Both doctors and nurses were strongly supportive of research with newborns, but nurses were more averse

to exposing infants to risk. Only 76.0% of nurses, compared to 92.2% of physicians, agreed that informed consent should be sought for all forms of research. When results were compared with

parental perceptions, health-care providers were more likely to believe that research should be conducted for the good of all babies. Parents were generally less aware of the existence of an

approval process for research in general. In responding to hypothetical scenarios with risk and direct benefit, parents were less willing to enroll their infants than were health-care

providers. Approximately 30% of both groups would be willing to enroll their infants in a study involving moderate risk and no direct benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Views of nurses, physicians, and

parents regarding research with newborns are different. Overall, there is support for research; however, nurses are more likely to never enroll their own baby and enroll babies into minor

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our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS PARENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON A TRIAL USING WAIVED INFORMED CONSENT AT BIRTH Article 21 December 2023 EXPERIENCES AND

PREFERENCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT NEONATAL RESEARCH: INSIGHTS FROM PARENT INTERVIEWS Article 25 November 2023 THE CULTURE OF RESEARCH COMMUNICATION IN NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNITS: KEY

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Article  CAS  Google Scholar  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to the University of Calgary and the Calgary Health Region for support of this project, and to Michael Fox

for collecting the data. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Regional Clinical Division, Neonatology, Calgary Health Region, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Nalini Singhal MD, FRCP *

Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Nalini Singhal MD, FRCP * Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Kathleen Oberle RN,

PhD * University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Amy Darwish * Department of Medicine, Office of Medical Bioethics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Ellen Burgess MD,

FRCP Authors * Nalini Singhal MD, FRCP View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Kathleen Oberle RN, PhD View author publications You can also

search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Amy Darwish View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Ellen Burgess MD, FRCP View author

publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar APPENDIX A APPENDIX A Questionnaire B — 5 scenarios are given in Table A1. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and

permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Singhal, N., Oberle, K., Darwish, A. _et al._ Attitudes of Health-Care Providers towards Research with Newborn Babies. _J Perinatol_ 24,

775–782 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211171 Download citation * Published: 05 August 2004 * Issue Date: 01 December 2004 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211171 SHARE THIS

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