Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/40669
Title: Banking on you? : the level of public awareness of biobanks in Malta
Authors: Desira, Maria
Martin, Gillian M.
Keywords: Biobanks -- Malta
Biology -- Research -- Malta
Medicine -- Research -- Malta
Public opinion -- Malta
Issue Date: 2018
Publisher: Malta Chamber of Scientists
Citation: Desira, M., & Martin, G. M. (2018). Banking on you? : the level of public awareness of biobanks in Malta. Xjenza, 6(2), 110-116.
Abstract: This paper explores the level of awareness of the Maltese general public in relation to the existence and use of biobanks as resources for biomedical and genomic research. Using a quantitative research design, a four question survey was administered face-to-face to a random stratified quota sample (n = 387) of the Maltese population. The survey assessed whether the general public understands what a biobank is, and what the people believe/ think a biobank might be. Results show that the overwhelming majority of the public is not aware of the term `biobank', and when asked to think about what a biobank could be, the majority of these failed to give an accurate answer, with a financial institution being the most frequent suggestion. This said, 26.5% of those who initially claimed that they did not know what a biobank is (or claimed they were not sure) went on to give a legitimate response when asked to speculate about what a biobank could be. Most of these respondents mentioned biobanks which store gametes and/or embryos and biobanks which store blood and organs for the purpose of donation. Whilst gender does not seem to be a significant factor in the outcome as an independant variable, educational achievement did have an influence on the accuracy of the responses. The key finding is that only 2.3% of the Maltese population promptly associated the term `biobank' with a facility for storing tissue for the purpose of biomedical research, while the vast majority believed it referred to a financial institution.
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/40669
Appears in Collections:Scholarly Works - FacArtSoc
Xjenza, 2018, Volume 6, Issue 2

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