Alyssa Fan
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Jennifer Pierce
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Anesthesiology / Medicine
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 3 (11:00am – 11:50am)
Authors: Jennifer Pierce, Alyssa Fan, Sana Shaikh
Abstract
Past research relating to barriers to participating in medical research suggests that medical mistrust—a participant’s trust in research and research institutions—is one of the most crucial factors which elicits research participation. Identifying factors which contribute to medical mistrust would allow researchers to combat lack of diversity in research participation pools. The primary goal of the current study is to better understand demographic characteristics associated with medical mistrust. Participants were recruited via social media and completed a cross-sectional, online survey. The participants self-reported demographic characteristics, and they were asked questions which assessed their level of medical mistrust. The results suggest that numerous demographic characteristics have associations with medical mistrust. Women reported lower rates of mistrust than both men and transgender-nonbinary individuals. Those who reported any level of economic strain had higher levels of mistrust than those who reported no economic strain. Individuals with a graduate degree reported lower levels of mistrust than those who possessed a high school education or some college, but no bachelors degree. Any past history of discrimination in a medical setting was associated with higher levels of mistrust in comparison to those without a past history of discrimination. White individuals reported lower mistrust compared to non-white individuals. Finally, married individuals reported higher mistrust compared to those who were not married. These findings can be used to improve research and clinical processes to enhance trust and discomfort among these groups. This project provides a model for further research into the association between demographic characteristics and medical mistrust.
