Internet Use and Knowledge of Clinical Trials Among US Adults: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Lack of knowledge about clinical trial (CT) research may perpetuate poor engagement of underrepresented populations. The rise of internet use may improve CT knowledge, and internet-based recruitment modalities might differentially benefit recruitment if internet users have higher baseline CT knowledge. We seek to bridge these gaps by assessing the relationship between internet use, access to health information, and CT participation.

This study aimed to determine the association between internet use and CT knowledge among US adults.

The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5 cycle 4 is a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of US adults. Participants self-reported internet use (yes or no) and knowledge of CTs (dichotomized as none or little vs higher). Logistic regression estimated odds ratios (ORs) for higher CT knowledge by internet use, adjusting for sociodemographic and health factors. Analysis was stratified by internet use modalities, exploring variations in knowledge.

Among a weighted sample of 249,896,898 participants (mean age 46, SD 17.0 years; 1471/2616, 50% women), 88% (n=2233) were internet users. No knowledge or only a little knowledge of CTs was reported among 97% (361/383) of internet nonusers and 89% (1919/2233) of internet users. There were significantly greater odds of higher CT knowledge among internet users than among nonusers in the fully adjusted model (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.30-5.33; P=.009). Stratified analyses demonstrated a positive association between combined mobile phone and home-based internet use and higher CT knowledge in the fully adjusted model (OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.34-5.37; P=.006).

Internet use is associated with greater CT knowledge. Thus, internet-based recruitment modalities may augment conventional engagement methods to identify US adults potentially interested in CT participation.