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Patient attitudes towards faecal sampling for gut microbiome studies and clinical care reveal positive engagement and room for improvement
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 4, p e0249405 (2021), PLoS ONE, 16(4):e0249405. PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Background: Faecal sample collection is crucial for gut microbiome research and its clinical applications. However, while patients and healthy volunteers are routinely asked to provide stool samples, their attitudes towards sampling remain largely unknown. Here we investigate the attitudes of 780 Dutch patients, including participants in a large Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) gut microbiome cohort, and population controls, to identify barriers to sample collection and provide recommendations for gut microbiome researchers and clinicians. Methods: We sent questionnaires to 660 IBD patients and 112 patients with other disorders who had previously been approached to participate in gut microbiome studies. We also conducted 478 brief interviews with participants in our general population cohort who had collected stool samples. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using R. Results: 97.4% of respondents reported that they had willingly participated in stool sample collection for gut microbiome research, and most respondents (82.9%) and interviewees (95.6%) indicated willingness to participate again, with motivations for participating being mainly altruistic (57.0%). Responses indicated that storing stool samples in the home freezer for a prolonged time was the main barrier to participation (52.6%), but clear explanations of the sampling procedures and their purpose increased willingness to collect and freeze samples (P=0.046, P=0.003). Conclusions: To account for participant concerns, gut microbiome researchers establishing cohorts and clinicians trying new faecal tests should provide clear instructions, explain the rationale behind their protocol, consider providing a small freezer, and inform patients about study outcomes. By assessing the attitudes to, motives for and barriers to participation in faecal sample collection, we can provide important information that will contribute to the success of gut microbiome research and its near-future clinical applications.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Male
Questionnaires
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Social Sciences
Cohort Studies
Feces
0302 clinical medicine
Psychological Attitudes
Surveys and Questionnaires
Medicine and Health Sciences
Psychology
Sampling (medicine)
education.field_of_study
Multidisciplinary
digestive, oral, and skin physiology
Genomics
Research Assessment
Patient attitudes
Medical Microbiology
Research Design
Cohort
Medicine
030211 gastroenterology & hepatology
Female
Sample collection
Research Article
Adult
medicine.medical_specialty
Psychometrics
Science
Population
Immunology
MEDLINE
General Population Cohort
Microbial Genomics
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Research and Analysis Methods
Microbiology
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Specimen Handling
Autoimmune Diseases
03 medical and health sciences
Rheumatology
medicine
Genetics
Humans
education
Quality of Health Care
Survey Research
Lupus Erythematosus
Bacteria
business.industry
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Gut Bacteria
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
Gut microbiome
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
030104 developmental biology
Family medicine
Clinical Immunology
Microbiome
Clinical Medicine
business
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....ae6e4b018ecf50fbe68ea9ae29afda10