Prevalence and reasons for refusal to participate in clinical research

Abstract The information provided regarding the prevalence and reasons why volunteers refuse to participate in scientific research is sparse. This article aims to describe the prevalence and reasons for refusing to voluntarily participate in the cohort study whose objective is to evaluate morbidity and mortality amongst people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), through a cross-sectional study conducted at the Centro de Treinamento e Referência em Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias (Training and Referral Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases). The following information was obtained: origin, date of birth, age, gender, and reason for not consenting, when applicable. The lack of time to devote to the research was the main reason given (63%), followed by fear of lack of confidentiality (17%). There was no statistical difference among those who accepted or not to participate in terms of gender, age or origin of the service. The percentage of PLWHA who refused to participate in the study (40.7%) and lack of time available for their participation (63%) were considered high.