What the public knows and wants to know about medicines research and development: a survey of the general public in six European countries

Abstract

ObjectivesTo explore public knowledge of, and interest in, learning more about medicines R&D in six European countries.DesignOnline survey of 6931 members of the public across Europe.MethodsThe survey formed part of a public omnibus survey. A quota sampling approach was used with quotas set according to national census data on age, gender and government region. The survey explored the public's knowledge and awareness of medicines R&D, their interest in learning more and the perceived influences on this.ResultsThe survey was completed by 6931 members of the public, over 75% of whom reported having no or less than good knowledge of medicines R&D. Males were more likely than females to report good knowledge (17% vs 15%), and knowledge appeared to decrease with age. Those who were currently or had previously been involved in medical research were almost five times more likely to report good knowledge of medicines R&D overall (43% vs 13%). Participants reported good knowledge of medicines safety and clinical trials but little knowledge of pharmacoeconomics. They were most interested in learning more about medicines safety and personalised and predictive medicine and least interested in pharmacoeconomics. Older people, women and respondents with current good knowledge of medicines R&D were most interested in learning more about medicines R&D.ConclusionsExperience of medical research appears to play a key role in increasing public awareness of and future interest in medicines R&D. Some groups may need to be specifically targeted to increase their awareness of medicines R&D, for example, women expressed great interest in learning more but reported less knowledge than men. It may be useful to explore further the views of those who are currently uninterested in learning more.

A Survey of Self-Perceived Knowledge and Knowledge Gaps of Medicines Research and Development Among Finnish General Public

“…According to our results, Finns estimate their knowledge on medicines R&D lower than British, French, German, Italian and Polish respondents (14). This is rather surprising as traditionally Finns have expressed strong interest towards science and research (17,18,19) and as health literacy is also a part of the national school curricula in Finland (20).…”

“…As an earlier involvement in clinical research increased patients self-reported knowledge and willingness to learn more about certain aspects of medicines R&D and HTA, our results imply that participation into a clinical research has been an educating and perhaps also an empowering experience for the participants (14).…”

“…The original survey questionnaire was translated from English into Finnish by using the back-translation method and piloted with four Finnish speaking volunteers before conducting the survey in January 2019 (14).…”

“…This survey was rst conducted in six European countries as a part of the Needs Assessment Work Package of the European Patients' Academy on Therapeutic Innovation (EUPATI) Project and its results were published in 2015 (14).…”

Clinical Trials: What, Where, When?

“…Группа исследователей под руководством S. Parsons [6] опубликовала в 2015 г. результаты масштабного опроса с участием 6931 респондента, проведенного на территории 6 европейских стран, целью которого было выяснить уровень осведомленности по всем аспектам разработки лекарственных средств, а также связь уровня осведомленности с социодемографическими и другими факторами. Результаты исследования показали, что только каждый пятый (n=1436; 22%) опрошенный считает, что хорошо информирован о КИ, при этом авторы обнаружили, что мужчины чаще, чем женщины, сообщали о глубоких знаниях касательно разработки лекарственных средств (17 против 15%), а уровень осведомленности снижался с возрастом (от 19% в возрастной группе 18-24 лет до 11% в группе старше 65 лет).…”