Using a chat-based informed consent tool in large-scale genomic research

Using a chat-based informed consent tool in large-scale genomic research
Sarah K Savage, Jonathan LoTempio, Erica D Smith, E Hallie Andrew, Gloria Mas, Amanda H Kahn-Kirby, Emmanuèle Délot, Andrea J Cohen, Georgia Pitsava, Robert Nussbaum, Vincent A Fusaro, Seth Berger, Eric Vilain
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 4 September 2023
Abstract
Objective
We implemented a chatbot consent tool to shift the time burden from study staff in support of a national genomics research study.
Materials and Methods
We created an Institutional Review Board-approved script for automated chat-based consent. We compared data from prospective participants who used the tool or had traditional consent conversations with study staff.
Results
Chat-based consent, completed on a user’s schedule, was shorter than the traditional conversation. This did not lead to a significant change in affirmative consents. Within affirmative consents and declines, more prospective participants completed the chat-based process. A quiz to assess chat-based consent user understanding had a high pass rate with no reported negative experiences.
Conclusion
Our report shows that a structured script can convey important information while realizing the benefits of automation and burden shifting. Analysis suggests that it may be advantageous to use chatbots to scale this rate-limiting step in large research projects.