Comparing research attitudes in Down syndrome and non-Down syndrome research decision-makers

Recruitment challenges in people with and without Down syndrome (DS) can delay research progress and risk sample bias. This study identified and quantified differences in research attitudes across populations of research enrollment decision-makers for individuals with and without DS.

We performed analyses using data from two registries: the University of California, Irvine Consent-to-Contact (C2C) Registry and DS-Connect. The former represented a sample of non-DS decision-makers (N = 4818), while for the latter, we excluded individuals with DS, leaving a population of DS family decision-makers (N = 976). We assessed scores on the Research Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ) between DS and non-DS decision-makers. We compared total RAQ scores using linear regression and assessed item-level RAQ differences using proportional odds regression.

Mean total RAQ scores were not statistically different between decision-makers in the two registries, after adjusting for age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) time frame (Est. Diff = 0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.22, 0.43; p = 0.531). However, in a pre-specified analysis, we did find evidence of differential attitudes on item-level RAQ scores. Specifically, decision-makers for participants with DS had increased odds of a more favorable response to the question of responsibility to help others (DS vs. non-DS: odds ratio [OR] = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.48) and decreased odds of a more favorable response to the question regarding the belief that medical research would find cures for major diseases during their lifetime (DS vs. non-DS: OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.66, 0.90).

Our findings provide insights for researchers to develop strategies for recruiting individuals with and without DS into clinical research. The observed item-level differences warrant further investigation to instruct precise recruitment strategies.

Research attitudes between decision-makers for individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and decision-makers without DS were observed to be similar on average.Item-level differences in research attitudes were observed to differ for DS and non-DS decision-makers.These results can help facilitate precise recruitment strategies for populations with DS.