Internet Use and Informed Consent

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DESCRIPTION: The applicant is a post-doctoral fellow in the Cancer Center who is advancing to a junior faculty position in the Department of Bioethics. This KO1 award is expected to help transition the focus of the applicant's research and to provide additional training in biocthics, particularly informed consent and Internet-related research and innovation. The applicant's career goal is to develop into an independent investigator in bioethics and informed consent. His specific objectives are to:(1)advance training in the area of normative and theoretical bioethics; (2) complete training as an empirical researcher, including in advanced statistical methods, specifically as applied to biocthics; (3) develop capacity to work in international bioethics; (4) obtain training and experience as a behavioral interventionist; and,finally, (5) develop a research program in informed consent that will lead to hisfirst investigator-initiated (Re1) award.The applicant proposes a five-year training program with faculty members from a strong bioethics research department, and with a leading expert in Internet-focused research. His sponsor is a very experienced bioethics researcher whose work has focused on informed consent communication and decision making among cancer patients. Co-sponsors and mentors represent subspecialty divisions that are directly relevant to the applicant's research and career development plan.The career development plan describes activities focused on enhancing the applicant's knowledge and expertise in the five areas described above. These activities include ormal course work in the foundations of bioethics and informed consent, research training in statistical methods and behavioral interventions, independent reading in international bioethics and Internet health studies, and a Writer's Workshop. The applicant's proposed research will involve four interlocking studies aimed at understanding the role and impact of the Internet in the informed consent process for cancer clinical trials. These include:(1) a literature and websitereview; (2) a survey of patient subjects who have been offered a randomized clinical trial; (2) a survey of oncologist-investigators; and, (4) a pilot intervention aimed at laying the groundwork for an RO1 action-based study of patient Internet use during the informed consent process. Findings from the research are expected to substantially improve understanding of Internet use and prospects for use among individuals considering a clinical trial as a treatment option.