Vietnamese University Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Participation in Clinical Research: Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND: Recruiting and retaining adequate numbers of eligible participants remain the key challenges in clinical research. Understanding the factors associated with participants' motivations is essential to support recruitment efforts, reduce early withdrawals, and consolidate commitment. The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit conducted a longitudinal study, named the SEED project, with a cohort of first- and third-year students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the findings of the SEED project related to students' understanding of clinical research and characterizes factors influencing their motivation to participate. METHODS: We used a mixed methods approach, incorporating surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions to collect insights from students on ethical and practical aspects of clinical research participation. RESULTS: A total of 437 students were enrolled, with the majority coming from the general medicine faculty. Of these participants, 74 students contributed to qualitative data. Over 95% of the students agreed that clinical research could make an important contribution to science (430/435, 99%) and the health of society by increasing disease awareness (422/436, 97%) and potential access to more effective treatments (415/435, 95%). Few students (81/435, 19%) expressed concerns about the negative impacts of clinical research on the environment. In terms of risk, most students emphasized unpredictable or serious side effects (226/434, 52%) or inconveniences (257/435, 59%) as major concerns, whereas small proportions worried about the risk of disclosure of personal information (94/436, 22%) or the risk of being treated like an "experimental subject, not human being" (33/434, 8%). In in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, health-related benefits, opportunities for intellectual growth, time requirements, and altruistic attitudes built on the perceived social value of clinical research were highlighted as key factors influencing students' participation. CONCLUSIONS: Students in this study expressed favorable attitudes toward clinical research. By highlighting altruistic motivations built on the perceived social value of clinical research and personal motivations based on perceived health-related benefits for participants, this study provides insights to inform recruitment efforts for clinical studies involving student participants or other young, healthy individuals.