451: Patient and caregiver attitudes toward research and perception of quality of care

Very little is known about obstetric patients’ attitudes about research. Some obstetric providers perceive that patients do not participate in studies because patients equate research with lower quality of care. We aimed to test the hypothesis that patients equate research with higher quality of care and that obstetric caregivers underestimate patient perceptions of research and quality of care. Pilot study survey of obstetric patients >17 years of age and caregivers at two tertiary care institutions in a single community. A convenience sample of patients completed a short Likert Scale survey about research attitudes and perception of providers involved in research. In addition, caregivers were approached in clinic and by email with a similar survey. We report descriptive statistics of survey results, and compared responses across demographic differences. 171 consecutive patients and 190 caregivers (including physicians, nurses and clinic staff) agreed to the survey. Caregiver and patient perceptions of research are summarized in Figure 1. Positive patient perceptions, specifically related to “research and quality of care” and “caregiver medical knowledge,” were associated with being married, age >30 years, and higher education (p<0.05). There were no differences in caregiver or patient perceptions between institutions. Patients and caregivers generally agree that research is linked to higher quality of care. Caregivers underestimate patient perception of research and quality care. Only 50% caregivers agree that patients believe caregivers involved in research provide higher quality of care (69% patients agree with statement (p<0.05)) and 62% caregivers agree that patients believe research is necessary for quality medical care (97% patients agree with this statement (p<0.05)). Understanding patient attitudes towards research may help eliminate caregiver fears about patient attitudes and prompt providers to more readily encourage study participation. Future studies are needed to understand how demographic differences impact patient perception of research.