Interactive multimedia consent for biobanking: A randomized trial

PURPOSE: Interactive multimedia’s potential to improve biobank informed consent has yet to be investigated. The aim of this study was to test the separate effectiveness of interactivity and multimedia at improving participant understanding and confidence of understanding of informed consent, compared to a standard, face-to-face (F2F) biobank consent process. METHODS: A 2 (F2F versus multimedia) × 2 (standard versus enhanced interactivity) experimental design was used with 200 patients randomly assigned to receive informed consent. All patients received the same information provided in the Biobank’s 9-page consent document. RESULTS: Interactivity (F(1,196)=7.56, p=0.007, partial η(2)=0.037) and Media (F(1,196)=4.27, p=0.04, partial η(2)=0.021) independently improved participants’ understanding of the Biobank consent. Interactivity (F(1,196) = 6.793, p = 0.01, partial η(2)=0.033), but not Media (F(1,196) = 0.455, n.s.), resulted in increased participant confidence in their understanding of the Biobank’s consent. Patients took more time to complete the multimedia (M=18.2 min.) than the F2F (M=12.6 min.) conditions. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that interactivity and multimedia each can be effective at promoting individuals’ understanding and confidence in understanding of a biobank consent, albeit with additional time investment. Researchers should not assume that multimedia is inherently interactive, but rather separate the two constructs when studying electronic consent.