COVID-19 clinical trial participation and awareness in Texas

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic required the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, necessitating quick yet representative clinical trial enrollment to evaluate these preventive measures. However, misinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic and general concerns about clinical trial participation in the U.S. hindered clinical trial enrollment. This study assessed awareness of, willingness to participate in, and enrollment in COVID-19 vaccine and treatment clinical trials in Texas. A quota sample of 1,089 Texas residents was collected online from June – July 2022. Respondents were asked if they were aware of, willing to participate in, and had enrolled in clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines or treatments. Overall, 45.8% of respondents reported being aware of clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments or vaccines, but only 21.7% knew how to enroll and only 13.2% had enrolled in a COVID-19 clinical trial. Respondents with bachelor’s or graduate degrees were more likely to be aware of clinical trials, more likely to have enrolled in trials, and more willing to participate in treatment trials. Women were less willing to participate and less likely to have enrolled in COVID-19 clinical trials than men. Respondents aged 55 years and older were more willing to participate, but less likely to have enrolled in COVID-19 clinical trials than 18-to-24-year-olds. Common reasons given for not participating in clinical trials included concerns that COVID-19 treatments may not be safe, government distrust, and uncertainty about what clinical trial participation would entail. Substantial progress is needed to build community awareness and increase enrollment in clinical trials.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• clinical trials
• vaccines
• COVID-19 treatments
• public health
• health communication

This article is related to:

The seroepidemiology of immunoglobulin G antibodies against pertussis toxin and filamentous hemagglutinin in the east of China during the COVID-19 pandemic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

ELT, JML: conception and design; JML, ELT: analysis and interpretation of the data; JKV, ELT: resources and data curation; JML, ELT, INA, SA, TT: original drafting of the paper; all authors: critical review and revision; all authors: final review. All authors agree to be accountable for the work.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, JML. The data are not publicly available due to privacy concerns.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Agreement [1OT2HL156812] as part of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL), PI: Vishwanatha. The funding agency had no role in the design of the study or in the writing of the manuscript.