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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Jennifer St. Sauver¹, Steven Jacobsen¹, Robert Jacobson², Robert Vierkant³, Inna Ovsyannikova⁴, Neelam Dhiman⁴, and Gregory Poland⁴. (1) Division of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, 507-538-1460, stsauver.jennifer@mayo.edu, (2) Department of Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, (3) Division of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, (4) Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905

The purpose of our study was to determine whether specific characteristics were associated with study participation in a group of children residing in Olmsted County, Minnesota. We compared 346 participants and 848 non-participants from a study examining associations between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variants and immunity following measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination by demographic characteristics, MMR vaccination history, and length of time in the Olmsted County health care system. We also compared the frequency and reasons for health care visits between participants and non-participants by comparing diagnostic codes for all visits that had occurred between 1999 and 2001. Characteristics were compared using chi-square and t-tests, followed by multivariate logistic regression. Study participants were more likely to be white/Caucasian, to have received their first MMR vaccination at a younger age, and to have had more health care visits (especially for acute respiratory illnesses, vaccinations, or other acute conditions such as fainting and headaches) compared to study non-participants. These results suggest that frequent use of local health care systems by children and parents may increase comfort levels with local physicians and physician researchers, thereby improving participation rates in research studies among these populations. However, special efforts may be necessary to improve research participation among children who are infrequent users of the health care systems of interest.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Identify factors associated with participation in a genetic study of immunity to the Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine
• Determine whether such factors will bias study results
• Extrapolate factors to other studies of children and adolescents

Keywords: Participatory Research, Pediatrics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation