Online Education and e-Consent for GeneScreen, a Preventive Genomic Screening Study

Area of Science:

• Genomic research
• Online health studies
• Participant recruitment

Background:

• Online recruitment for studies is common, yet decision-making processes remain unclear.
• The GeneScreen study explored participant experiences with online genomic screening education and consent.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate participant-perceived ease of deciding to join an online genomic screening study.
• Assess participant understanding of key study features presented online.

Main Methods:

• Recruitment via mailings directing individuals to a dedicated website for information, consent, and surveys.
• Utilized online education and consent procedures for the GeneScreen genomic study.

Main Results:

• Participants reported ease in deciding to join and good comprehension of study features.
• Ease of decision-making correlated with genetic self-efficacy, low screening concerns, website trust/usability, and time commitment.
• Understanding of study features was associated with higher internet usage and information seeking.

Conclusions:

• Ease of decision-making and comprehension of study features are distinct phenomena in online research.
• Further research is needed for a nuanced understanding of responses to web-based consent information in genomic studies.