Michigan BioTrust for Health: public support for using residual dried blood spot samples for health research

Use of Online Newborn Screening Educational Resources for the Education of Expectant Parents: An Improvement in Equity

Educating parents about the newborn screening (NBS) process is critical in ensuring that families are aware of their child's NBS, which could contribute to better outcomes for the baby and experiences for the family. Successful education efforts result in expecting parents understanding the importance of NBS, feeling comfortable with the NBS process, and being aware of their choices after NBS is complete. Educating parents prenatally is challenging for many NBS programs for a variety of reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic added additional barriers to NBS programs' ability to educate parents prenatally about NBS. By initiating a department-wide partnership among other programs with a similar target audience, Michigan's NBS Program was able to host a virtual baby fair. Since the inaugural event, Michigan's NBS Program has hosted seven virtual fairs with 15 participating programs. A total of 692 participants registered for the baby fair and received a resource packet, over 157 participants joined one of the live presentations, and 211 have viewed the YouTube videos of recorded fairs. Virtual baby fairs are a cost-effective and convenient approach to education that could be implemented in any NBS program to educate parents prenatally about NBS.

Engaging publics in biobanking and genetic research governance - a literature review towards informing practice in India

Background: There is growing interest in advancing biobanking and genetic research in many countries, including India. Concurrently, more importance is being placed on participatory approaches involving the public and other stakeholders in addressing ethical issues and policymaking as part of a broader governance approach. We analyse the tools, purposes, outcomes and limitations of engaging people towards biobanking and genetic research governance that have been undertaken worldwide, and explore their relevance to India. Methods: Papers to be reviewed were identified through a targeted literature search carried out using ProQuest and PubMed. Retrieved papers were analysed with the Rpackage for Qualitative Data Analysis using inductive coding and thematic analysis, guided by the Framework Method. Results: Empirical studies on public and community engagement in the context of biobanking and or genetic research show a predominance towards the end of the last decade, spanning 2007 to 2019. Numerous strategies-including public meetings, community durbars, focus group discussions, interviews, deliberations, citizen-expert panels and community advisory boards-have been used to facilitate communication, consultation and collaboration with people, at the level of general and specific publics. Engagement allowed researchers to understand how people's values, opinions and experiences related to the research process; and enabled participants to become partners within the conduct of research. Conclusions: Constructs such as 'co-production', 'engagement of knowledges', 'rules of engagement' and 'stewardship' emerge as significant mechanisms that can address the ethical challenges and the governance of biobanking and genetic research in India. Given the inherent diversity of the Indian population and its varying cultural values and beliefs, there is a need to invest time and research funds for engagement as a continuum of participatory activity, involving communication, consultation and collaboration in relation to biobanking and genetic research. Further research into these findings is required to explore their effective employment within India.

Engaging publics in biobanking and genetic research governance - a literature review towards informing practice in India

Background: There is growing interest in advancing biobanking and genetic research in many countries, including India. Concurrently, more importance is being placed on participatory approaches involving the public and other stakeholders in addressing ethical issues and policymaking as part of a broader governance approach. We analyse the tools, purposes, outcomes and limitations of engaging people towards biobanking and genetic research governance that have been undertaken worldwide, and explore their relevance to India. Methods: Papers to be reviewed were identified through a targeted literature search carried out using ProQuest and PubMed. Retrieved papers were analysed with the R package for Qualitative Data Analysis using inductive coding and thematic analysis, guided by the Framework Method. Results: Empirical studies on public and community engagement in the context of biobanking and or genetic research show a predominance towards the end of the last decade, spanning 2007 to 2019. Numerous strategies—including public meetings, community durbars, focus group discussions, interviews, deliberations, citizen-expert panels and community advisory boards—have been used to facilitate communication, consultation and collaboration with people, at the level of general and specific publics. Engagement allowed researchers to understand how people’s values, opinions and experiences related to the research process; and enabled participants to become partners within the conduct of research. Conclusions:  Constructs such as ‘co-production’, ‘engagement of knowledges’, ‘rules of engagement’ and ‘stewardship’ emerge as significant mechanisms that can address the ethical challenges and the governance of biobanking and genetic research in India. Given the inherent diversity of the Indian population and its varying cultural values and beliefs, there is a need to invest time and research funds for engagement as a continuum of participatory activity, involving communication, consultation and collaboration in relation to biobanking and genetic research. Further research into these findings is required to explore their effective employment within India

Local deliberative approach to the bioethical controversies: An opportunity for the proper implementation of neonatal screening

Introduction: The controversial characteristics of neonatal screening influenced by bioethical considerations make its implementation complex. Colombia is not an exception in this sense and local circumstances complicate the panorama. Objective: To establish how bioethical controversies on neonatal screening are approached at a local level as a basis for deliberating on the must-be of this activity in Colombia. Materials and methods: A survey immersed in an interpretative investigation with descriptive and deliberative components of analysis was applied to approach the values exposed by officials of the Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud. Results: The compulsory offer of screening by the nation, regardless of its opportunity cost and the consent for the use in research of results and residual samples, were not controversial, but, in contrast, the type of information and the consent to authorize screening did arise controversy. The more experienced officials preferred mandatory screening (17.7 vs. 11.79 years on average, p=0.007). Surprisingly, despite the risk of discrimination, keeping the neonate as the purpose, there was agreement on giving all the information to parents and medical records. Another controversial aspect was the follow-up of cases without hiding their identification where officials with more experience in bioethical aspects preferred the use of codes (4.5 vs. 1.26 years on average, p=0.009). In this context, strategies such as informed dissent, specialized advice or public health programs that appreciate diversity would allow to rescue even seemingly opposite values. Conclusion: A local approach regarding what ought to be in neonatal screening based on a deliberative bioethical perspective allowed to present an implementation proposal for this activity

Bioethics and public policies in neonatal screening in the United States, United Kingdom, and Colombia

Introduction: Thinking about how neonatal screening should be done requires explaining the relevance of the bioethical factors involved. Objective: To understand the relationship between bioethical considerations and the way neonatal screening is done and to identify its relevance in the Colombian legislation. Materials and methods: A comparative study of public policies in the United States and the United Kingdom was done, as they exemplify extreme cases of neonatal screening. The influence of bioethical principles was interpreted based on similarities and differences. With this information, locally affected bioethical considerations were identified in the Colombian legislation on neonatal screening. Results: In the United Kingdom, paternal autonomy prevails allowing parents to deny obligatory beneficence. In the USA, beneficence prevails and a significant number of anomalies must be screened for. This increases the likelihood of false positives and causes a high opportunity cost. Both countries have similarities which are also partially accepted in Colombia, such as the demand for equity of access. Others, such as specialized professional advice or the right to refuse screening, are not considered in the Colombian legislation on neonatal screening. Additionally, there are circumstances in Colombia such as different perspectives on what respecting justice means and how to apply that in choosing which abnormalities are screened for and lack of harmony between norms that prevents efficacious detection. Conclusion: Bioethical considerations explain the differences between countries and sometimes prevail in the development of public policies on neonatal screening. Their inclusion in high-level norms in Colombia for effective screening is proposed.

A systematic literature review of individuals' perspectives on privacy and genetic information in the United States

Concerns about genetic privacy affect individuals' willingness to accept genetic testing in clinical care and to participate in genomics research. To learn what is already known about these views, we conducted a systematic review, which ultimately analyzed 53 studies involving the perspectives of 47,974 participants on real or hypothetical privacy issues related to human genetic data. Bibliographic databases included MEDLINE, Web of Knowledge, and Sociological Abstracts. Three investigators independently screened studies against predetermined criteria and assessed risk of bias. The picture of genetic privacy that emerges from this systematic literature review is complex and riddled with gaps. When asked specifically "are you worried about genetic privacy," the general public, patients, and professionals frequently said yes. In many cases, however, that question was posed poorly or only in the most general terms. While many participants expressed concern that genomic and medical information would be revealed to others, respondents frequently seemed to conflate privacy, confidentiality, control, and security. People varied widely in how much control they wanted over the use of data. They were more concerned about use by employers, insurers, and the government than they were about researchers and commercial entities. In addition, people are often willing to give up some privacy to obtain other goods. Importantly, little attention was paid to understanding the factors-sociocultural, relational, and media-that influence people's opinions and decisions. Future investigations should explore in greater depth which concerns about genetic privacy are most salient to people and the social forces and contexts that influence those perceptions. It is also critical to identify the social practices that will make the collection and use of these data more trustworthy for participants as well as to identify the circumstances that lead people to set aside worries and decide to participate in research.

Engaging a state: Facebook comments on a large population biobank

Scholarship on newborn screening, dried bloodspot retention, and large population biobanking call consistently for improved public engagement. Communication with participants likely occurs only in the context of collection, consent, or notification, if at all. We ran an 11-week advertising campaign to inform Michigan Facebook users unlikely to know that their or their children's dried bloodspots (DBSs) were stored in a state biobank. We investigated the pattern and content of comments posted during the campaign, focusing on users' questions, attitudes and concerns, and the role the moderator played in addressing them. We used Facebook data to quantitatively assess engagement and employed conventional content analysis to investigate themes, attitudes, and social dynamics among user and moderator comments. Five ad sets elicited comments during campaign weeks 4-8, reaching ∼800,000 Facebook users ($6000). Gravitating around broad, underlying ethical, legal, and social issues, 180 posts from 129 unique users related to newborn screening or biobanking. Thirty six conveyed negative attitudes and 33 conveyed positive attitudes; 53 posed questions. The most prevalent themes identified were consent, privacy, bloodspot use, identifiability, inclusion criteria, research benefits, (mis)trust, genetics, DBS destruction, awareness, and the role of government. The moderator's 81 posts were responsive-answering questions, correcting or clarifying information, or providing information about opting out. Facebook ad campaigns can improve engagement by pushing out relevant content and creating dynamic, responsive, visible forums for discussion. Reduced control over messaging may be worth the trade-off for creating accessible, transparent, people-centered engagement on public health issues that are sensitive and complex.

Using Newborn Screening Bloodspots for Research: Public Preferences for Policy Options

OBJECTIVES

Retaining residual newborn screening (NBS) bloodspots for medical research remains contentious. To inform this debate, we sought to understand public preferences for, and reasons for preferring, alternative policy options.

METHODS

We assessed preferences among 4 policy options for research use of residual bloodspots through a bilingual national Internet survey of a representative sample of Canadians. Fifty percent of respondents were randomly assigned to select reasons supporting these preferences. Understanding of and attitudes toward screening and research concepts, and demographics were assessed.

RESULTS

Of 1102 respondents (94% participation rate; 47% completion rate), the overall preference among policy options was ask permission (67%); this option was also the most acceptable choice (80%). Assume permission was acceptable to 46%, no permission required was acceptable to 29%, and no research allowed was acceptable to 26%. The acceptability of the ask permission option was reduced among participants assigned to the reasoning exercise (84% vs 76%; P = .004). Compared with assume/no permission required, ordered logistic regression showed a significant reduction in preference for the ask permission option with greater understanding of concepts (odds ratio, 0.87; P < .001), greater confidence in science (odds ratio, 0.16; P < .001), and a perceived responsibility to contribute to research (odds ratio, 0.39; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Surveyed Canadians prefer that explicit permission is sought for storage and research use of NBS bloodspots. This preference was diminished when reasons supporting and opposing routine storage, and other policy options, were presented. Findings warrant consideration as NBS communities strategize to respond to shifting legislative contexts.

Stakeholder engagement in policy development: challenges and opportunities for human genomics

Along with rapid advances in human genomics, policies governing genomic data and clinical technologies have proliferated. Stakeholder engagement is widely lauded as an important methodology for improving clinical, scientific, and public health policy decision making. The purpose of this paper is to examine how stakeholder engagement is used to develop policies in genomics research and public health areas, as well as to identify future priorities for conducting evidence-based stakeholder engagements. We focus on exemplars in biobanking and newborn screening to illustrate a variety of current stakeholder engagement in policy-making efforts. Each setting provides an important context for examining the methods of obtaining and integrating informed stakeholder voices into the policy-making process. While many organizations have an interest in engaging stakeholders with regard to genomic policy issues, there is broad divergence with respect to the stakeholders involved, the purpose of engagements, when stakeholders are engaged during policy development, methods of engagement, and the outcomes reported. Stakeholder engagement in genomics policy development is still at a nascent stage. Several challenges of using stakeholder engagement as a tool for genomics policy development remain, and little evidence regarding how to best incorporate stakeholder feedback into policy-making processes is currently available.

A systematic literature review of individuals' perspectives on broad consent and data sharing in the United States

PURPOSE

In 2011, an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposed that de-identified human data and specimens be included in biobanks only if patients provide consent. The National Institutes of Health Genomic Data Sharing policy went into effect in 2015, requiring broad consent from almost all research participants.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic literature review of attitudes toward biobanking, broad consent, and data sharing. Bibliographic databases included MEDLINE, Web of Science, EthxWeb, and GenETHX. Study screening was conducted using DistillerSR.

RESULTS

The final 48 studies included surveys (n = 23), focus groups (n = 8), mixed methods (n = 14), interviews (n = 1), and consent form analyses (n = 2). Study quality was characterized as good (n = 19), fair (n = 27), and poor (n = 2). Although many participants objected, broad consent was often preferred over tiered or study-specific consent, particularly when broad consent was the only option, samples were de-identified, logistics of biobanks were communicated, and privacy was addressed. Willingness for data to be shared was high, but it was lower among individuals from under-represented minorities, individuals with privacy and confidentiality concerns, and when pharmaceutical companies had access to data.

CONCLUSIONS

Additional research is needed to understand factors affecting willingness to give broad consent for biobank research and data sharing in order to address concerns to enhance acceptability.Genet Med 18 7, 663-671.

Public concerns regarding the storage and secondary uses of residual newborn bloodspots: an analysis of print media, legal cases, and public engagement activities

Recently, public concerns have been expressed regarding the non-consented storage and secondary research uses of residual newborn bloodspot (RBS) samples. The purpose of this paper is to examine public responses to the storage and secondary uses of RBS that can be identified through analysis of media, legal cases, and documented public engagement activities. Coverage in the examined print media confirmed the importance of RBS to journalists and those people who expressed their concerns to these journalists. Several lawsuits, brought by parents concerned about the storage of newborn bloodspots, placed the practice of storing NBS into the spotlight. This resulted in controversial debates and the mandatory destruction of millions of samples. Analysis of public engagement activities across several jurisdictions indicated that across (inter)national boundaries there are common elements to what is perceived as inappropriate governance of RBS. Public concerns were grouped into five main themes: trust, transparency, confidentiality, ownership, and stigmatization/discrimination. The results of our analysis help to make a compelling case for placing citizens at the center of the debate and developing policy about the storage and secondary uses of newborn bloodspots.

Public trust in health information sharing: implications for biobanking and electronic health record systems

Biobanks are made all the more valuable when the biological samples they hold can be linked to health information collected in research, electronic health records, or public health practice. Public trust in such systems that share health information for research and health care practice is understudied. Our research examines characteristics of the general public that predict trust in a health system that includes researchers, health care providers, insurance companies and public health departments. We created a 119-item survey of predictors and attributes of system trust and fielded it using Amazon’s MTurk system (n = 447). We found that seeing one’s primary care provider, having a favorable view of data sharing and believing that data sharing will improve the quality of health care, as well as psychosocial factors (altruism and generalized trust) were positively and significantly associated with system trust. As expected, privacy concern, but counterintuitively, knowledge about health information sharing were negatively associated with system trust. We conclude that, in order to assure the public’s trust, policy makers charged with setting best practices for governance of biobanks and access to electronic health records should leverage critical access points to engage a diverse public in joint decision making.

Testing an online, dynamic consent portal for large population biobank research

BACKGROUND

Michigan's BioTrust for Health, a public health research biobank comprised of residual dried bloodspot (DBS) cards from newborn screening contains over 4 million samples collected without written consent. Participant-centric initiatives are IT tools that hold great promise to address the consent challenges in biobank research.

METHODS

Working with Private Access Inc., a pioneer in patient-centric web solutions, we created and pilot tested a dynamic informed consent simulation, paired with an educational website, focusing on consent for research utilizing DBSs in Michigan's BioTrust for Health.

RESULTS

Out of 187 pilot testers recruited in 2 groups, 137 completed the consent simulation and exit survey. Over 50% indicated their willingness to set up an account if the simulation went live and to recommend it to others. Participants raised concerns about the process of identity verification and appeared to have little experience with sharing health information online.

CONCLUSIONS

Applying online, dynamic approaches to address the consent challenges raised by biobanks with legacy sample collections should be explored, given the positive reaction to our pilot test and the strong preference for active consent. Balancing security and privacy with accessibility and ease of use will continue to be a challenge.

'Cool! and creepy': engaging with college student stakeholders in Michigan's biobank

Large population biobanks, important resources for genomic research, also present ethical challenges. The Michigan BioTrust for Health makes dried bloodspots (DBS) leftover from newborn screening, including ~4.5 million collected before 2010 without written consent, available for health research. Absent prospectively gathered consent and/or current engagement with 18- to 29-year olds, little is known about opinions and beliefs from this age group about use of the bloodspots for research. We engaged 2,101 students-BioTrust participants and their peers-at information booths at 20 college campuses across the state to educate youth about the BioTrust and gather information about consent preferences and about hopes and concerns about this public health program. We surveyed student stakeholder DBS research consent preferences and fielded a "postengagement" survey to gauge the attitudes of participants and to evaluate the campus engagement. The most prevalent themes in open-ended comments were support for biobank research and concern that Michiganders are not aware of their participation. While 78 % of students said they would, if asked, opt in to the BioTrust, half of these preferred to be contacted each time a researcher sought to use their DBS. Students reported great interest in the topic and strong likelihood to share what they had learned. BioTrust participants are interested in learning about their role in an initiative whose goals they widely support. Public engagement is particularly important to biobank participants who, absent traditional consent practices, are unaware of their participation. Health-fair style engagements were effective for targeting college-aged stakeholders, communicating complex messages, and likely increasing knowledge. Retrospective biobanks and biobanks that collect proxy consent need policies to respect those who would opt out and will need resources to educate participants and conduct community outreach that is a safeguard to public trust.

The role of religious values in decisions about genetics and the public's health

The latest health care legislation, which promotes prevention and health screening, ultimately depends for its success on recognition of people's values concerning the technologies being employed, not just the interventions' technical virtues. Values concerning the deterministic nature of a condition and what groups should be targeted rest on a sense of what is morally, often religiously right in a given health circumstance. This paper looks at a number of leading-edge case examples--breast cancer genetic screening and family decision-making, and newborn screening and biobanks--in examining how the choices made at the individual, family, and societal levels rest on faith in a higher source of efficacy and moral perspectives on the measures that can be taken. Qualitative responses expressing people's attitudes toward these technologies underscore the importance of considering faith-based values in individual decisions and collective policies on their use. These examples are considered in the context of the historic interplay between science and religion and recent definitions and models of health which incorporate physical, emotional, and social elements, and most importantly, are expanding to incorporate the religious and spiritual values domains.

Attitudes of parents of children with serious health conditions regarding residual bloodspot use

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Studies have shown that the general public is supportive of newborn screening (NBS) and supportive of the storage and use of residual bloodspots for quality assurance and biomedical research. However, the attitudes of parents of children with serious health conditions have not been assessed. In this study, we assessed attitudes of parents with children who have phenylketonuria (PKU) and leukemia towards NBS and storage and use of residual bloodspots for research.

METHODS

A total of 49 individuals were recruited and responded to a validated 41-item survey regarding NBS and the retention and use of residual bloodspots. Of these participants, 22 had a child with PKU and 27 had a child with leukemia. We compared their responses to those of 1,927 individuals from the general public obtained in a previous study using the same survey instrument.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS

We found that parents of children with a serious health condition had higher levels of support than the general public towards the use of residual NBS samples for research but similar attitudes regarding choice and privacy protections. It is important to assess the attitudes of various stakeholders for policy development.

From newborn screening to population health research: implementation of the Michigan BioTrust for health

In June 2009, the Michigan Department of Community Health launched the Michigan BioTrust for Health to improve preservation and utility of residual dried blood spots from newborn screening (NBS) for biomedical research while maintaining public support and integrity of NBS. In this article, we chronicle implementation of the BioTrust and document its impact on NBS. Overall, the percentage of new parents who consent to possible future research use of their children's dried blood spots through the BioTrust has remained consistent with previous public opinion surveys. No significant increase in refusal of NBS has been observed despite increased publicity. There was, however, a slight increase in requests to destroy samples following completion of NBS, indicating readily accessible opt-out information. Given adequate training and cooperation of birthing hospital staff, as well as outreach education for parents and health-care providers, we conclude it is possible to implement a biobanking initiative without adversely impacting NBS.