Wellcome Trust Monitor, Wave 1: Tracking Public Views on Medical Research

The Wellcome Trust commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out a survey of attitudes about medical science research in the United Kingdom (UK). The main aim of the survey was to explore public attitudes towards and knowledge and awareness of medical research, in addition to people's levels of interest in and engagement with this topic. Though UK-focused, the results may have implications for public engagement with science work in other countries.

Within the survey there was a particular interest in exploring the views of young people, both on these issues and on the topic of science education and careers. For this reason, the survey involved a sample of young people aged between 14 and 18. The survey was designed to bolster the Wellcome Trust's interest in understanding public attitudes to biomedical science and technology and in fostering greater citizen understanding and engagement with the scientific research that it conducts. It is intended that the Wellcome Trust Monitor will be repeated every 3 years.

For this first wave, interviews were conducted in 2009 with 1,179 adults aged 18+ and 374 young people aged 14-18. Selected findings:

• There are extremely high levels of support for the public funding and conduct of medical research in the UK and of willingness to participate in research projects. Nearly three-quarters of adults are willing both to donate tissue samples and, if anonymity is guaranteed, to allow access to their personal health information for medical research purposes. Yet, the public is far less willing to participate in clinical trials if healthy. "The data demonstrate the need for effective communication with potential participants around issues of data confidentiality, the governance and regulation of projects, their benefits and purposes, and, in the case of clinical trials, the risk of harm."
• The public has an appetite for, and demonstrates an interest in, a wide range of medical research areas and related issues. However, the majority need to be motivated by "personal saliency" to actively seek information. For adults, this is primarily a diagnosis of disease of either someone that they know or themselves. Young people are most likely to seek information relating to an area of their studies, which "demonstrates the importance of science education as a vehicle for developing a wider interest in medical research. These factors should be used as 'hooks' to increase wider engagement and should be taken into account when planning activities." Furthermore, the study found that people are most interested in the development of new drugs and vaccines and physiological issues, such as how the body and brain work. "The Monitor data demonstrate a need for activities that focus more specifically on areas of interest to the public."
• Both adults and young people primarily use internet search engines to seek information. They are primarily seeking medical advice, but also seek information about medical research. "It would be pertinent to explore in more depth which websites are accessed, the validity of information found and whether the information about medical research provided is understandable to the lay reader." As indicated here, television (both factual and fictional programmes with a scientific storyline) and, to a lesser extent, newspapers are sources for information about medical research. "Thought will need to be given to how information is communicated and how audience reach is maximised given the future evolution of television across multi-media platforms and the increased availability of programming on demand."
• "A mismatch exists between reliance on the media to be kept up-to-date and very mixed views about the accuracy of media reporting (and a lack of trust in journalists more broadly). Advances have been made in terms of the reporting of science in recent years, including the number of dedicated science journalists and an increase in the number of scientists engaging with the media."
• A majority of both adults and young people lack a clear understanding of the nature of the scientific process. "[T]here is a need for widespread engagement around 'how science works', and an increased focus on this within school science....As good practice, where scientific terms are used these should be prefaced by clear, descriptive explanations."
• A public concern identified in the Monitor is that research is not progressing fast enough. "This signals a need for clear messages around potential timescales for delivery to market..."
• The study found a plurality of beliefs, such as the fact that nearly a fifth of the public reject evolution. "This clearly demonstrates that this is no time for complacency and the need for both good-quality public engagement and science education."
• The Monitor demonstrates that young people are interested in and engaged with school science. "Both the quality of teaching and the opportunity to conduct practical activities are shown to be critical to the enjoyment of and motivation to learn science. Such a finding reinforces the continuing need to support the provision of high-quality subject-specific professional development for science teachers through the national network of Science Learning Centres and Project Enthuse."
• "The Monitor data identify a link between levels of interest in a scientific career and those in school science, highlighting the importance of engaging young people through formal education....Levels of parental interest in science also were found to impact on young people's views of scientific careers, ...[which] clearly demonstrates the need and value of public engagement."