Building expert consensus regarding sharing of individual research results in Alzheimer’s disease research: a Delphi study protocol

Abstract

Introduction Informed decisions to enrol in the clinical investigations of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) require careful consideration of complex risks and uncertain benefits. Decisions regarding whether to receive information about biomarker status are complicated by lack of scientific consensus regarding biomarkers as surrogate endpoints for Alzheimer’s disease and how information about individual risk should be evaluated and shared with research participants. This study aims to establish stakeholder consensus regarding ethically optimal approaches to sharing individual results with ADRD research participants.Methods and analysis This Delphi consensus-building study consists of multiple online surveys conducted with Alzheimer’s disease research experts, including neurologists, neuropsychologists, ethicists, research oversight specialists and clinical trialists. Panellists will be administered questionnaires developed from a synthesis of researcher- and participant-endorsed considerations and decisional needs identified in published literature and a decisional needs assessment conducted with support from an Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant. Panellists will also be asked their views on the content and implementation of processes for sharing individual research results. ≥75% agreement will be required to achieve consensus. Response rates, level of agreement, medians, interquartile ranges and group rankings will be analysed. Following each round of data collection, our research team will undertake qualitative content analysis of open-ended responses.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval will be obtained from the Cleveland Clinic Institutional Review Board (Study Number 22–766). Delphi panellists will receive participant information sheets describing the study before agreeing to participate in the Delphi process. Results from the data we anticipate will be generated through this research and will be submitted for peer-reviewed journal publication and presentation at international conferences.