Fwsm. Verheggen et al., PATIENTS PERCEPTIONS ON INFORMED CONSENT AND THE QUALITY OF INFORMATION DISCLOSURE IN CLINICAL-TRIALS, Patient education and counseling, 29(2), 1996, pp. 137-153
In a survey on 26 clinical trials we studied how patients experience a
nd evaluate the information disclosure on the clinical trial they are
enrolled in and which factors influence patients' perceptions of infor
mation disclosure. Our objective was to obtain more insight thereby in
how informed consent is applied in the daily practice of clinical tri
als. Interviews were held with 198 adult patients and 32 trial-clinici
ans. Instead of focusing on patient comprehension of the information d
isclosed we analyzed patient perceptions of informed consent. Patients
proved to be quite satisfied with the oral and written information di
sclosure. Patients' perceptions of the manner and content of informati
on disclosure are influenced by more general attitudes towards medical
care, research and institutions, Patients' trust in medical experimen
ts, belief in the integrity of physicians and interest in medical affa
irs have an impact on the way patients perceive information disclosure
. To improve the quality of the informed consent procedure, we propose
a patient motivation classification (PMC) to enable trial-clinicians
to gain more insight into patient motivation. Relevant factors found i
n our data have been used as criteria for classification. An informed
decision making checklist (IDC) is suggested for patients as a general
outline for patient education, covering relevant socio-psychological
factors of enrolment.