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Research attitudes mediate the association between educational attainment and willingness to participate in Alzheimer’s disease research beyond Alzheimer’s disease knowledge
Bonta KM, Corbett E, Alemu MK, Darge BD, Hilderbrand LK, Richardson K, Blum IM, Ogonuwe SS et al.. medRxiv, 2026-10-15
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
STRUCTURED ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION This study examined the extent to which educational attainment, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) knowledge, and research attitudes are associated with willingness to participate in AD research, and whether AD knowledge and research attitudes mediate associations between educational attainment and willingness to participate. METHODS 201 older adults completed self-report measures of AD knowledge, research attitudes, prior research participation, and willingness to participate in diagnostic procedures (neuropsychological assessment, blood draw, brain MRI) and non-pharmacological intervention research (tracking physical activity, aerobic exercise). RESULTS Favorable research attitudes were consistently associated with greater willingness to participate across all proposed research activities, and research attitudes mediated the relationship between educational attainment and willingness to participate in research. In contrast, AD knowledge did not mediate the association between educational attainment and willingness to participate. DISCUSSION Research attitudes may be a key, modifiable determinant of willingness to participate in AD research and a promising focus for broadening AD research participation.
Key findings
- STRUCTURED ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION This study examined the extent to which educational attainment, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) knowledge, and research attitudes are associated with willingness to participate in AD research, and whether AD knowledge and research attitudes mediate associations between educational attainment and willingness to participate.
- RESULTS Favorable research attitudes were consistently associated with greater willingness to participate across all proposed research activities, and research attitudes mediated the relationship between educational attainment and willingness to participate in research.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Bonta, K. M., Corbett, E., Alemu, M. K., Darge, B. D., Hilderbrand, L. K., Richardson, K., et al. (2026). Research attitudes mediate the association between educational attainment and willingness to participate in Alzheimer’s disease research beyond Alzheimer’s disease knowledge. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.13.26365095
Vancouver
Bonta KM, Corbett E, Alemu MK, Darge BD, Hilderbrand LK, Richardson K, et al. Research attitudes mediate the association between educational attainment and willingness to participate in Alzheimer’s disease research beyond Alzheimer’s disease knowledge. medRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.10.13.26365095.
BibTeX
@article{bonta2026-9c8cbff7,
author = {Bonta, K. M. and Corbett, E. and Alemu, M. K. and Darge, B. D. and Hilderbrand, L. K. and Richardson, K. and Blum, I. M. and Ogonuwe, S. S. and others},
title = {{Research attitudes mediate the association between educational attainment and willingness to participate in Alzheimer’s disease research beyond Alzheimer’s disease knowledge}},
journal = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.13.26365095},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.13.26365095}
}