National Survey to Understand Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in Communicating to the Public About Epigenetics

Investigating ELSI Issues That May Facilitate or Impede Clinical Translation of Epigenetic Research: National Survey

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT07020234

Enrollment

2040

Registered

2025-06-13

Start date

2025-06-12

Completion date

2025-07-18

Last updated

2025-09-29

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Epigenomics, Epigenetics, Genetics, Behavioral, Bioethics

Brief summary

Few people realize that environmental pollution and some behaviors like physical activity and tobacco smoking can affect their health by turning on or turning off certain genes through a process called epigenetic modification. This study will develop and test strategies for communicating about epigenetics that are understandable and that increase acceptance of using epigenetics in clinical settings.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALEpigenetics Video

Educational video about health and epigenetics.

BEHAVIORALNanotechnology Video

Educational video about nanotechnology

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

English language speaker, Identify as one of five racial/ethnic groups: 1. Non-Hispanic White 2. Non-Hispanic Black, 3. Non-Hispanic Asian 4. Non-Hispanic Indigenous (i.e., Alaska Native/Native Hawaiians/American Indian/Other Pacific Islander) 5. Hispanic (all races)

Exclusion criteria

* Self-identify as a genetics expert

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Knowledge & understanding of epigenetics Information	At enrollment	We will measure this outcome using a sum score of correct answers for 8 individual items.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Perceptions of epigenetic information	At enrollment	We will measure this outcome using an 8 item scale.
Acceptability of epigenetics information	At enrollment	We will measure this outcome using 3 different constructs including perceived benefits of epigenetic research (7 item scale), perceived drawbacks of epigenetic research (3 items), and acceptance of using epigenetic research in medical support (3 items).

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026