The study found no link between distrust in medical research and willingness to participate in related studies. Westergaard and his team asked 601 Chicago residents at various shopping centers to voluntarily complete a set of 235 questions. The survey group purposely included an almost equal number of white, Mexican American and African American participants. The participants were quizzed about how much they agreed with six known HIV-conspiracy beliefs, their general trust in medical research and their willingness to volunteer for HIV-vaccine research trials.
Participants from all three groups shared the same levels of distrust in medical research. However, contrary to popular belief, the researchers found no association between the endorsement of an HIV conspiracy belief, and a general unwillingness to take part in research. Interestingly, even though African Americans and Mexican Americans were more likely to endorse HIV conspiracy beliefs, they were significantly more willing than whites to volunteer for HIV vaccine research. This observation differs from previous studies that suggest higher levels of distrust among racial and ethnic minorities lead to poor participation in vaccine research.
