Participant satisfaction in the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) Pilot Study

Seventy-one of the 94 eligible participants of the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) Pilot Study completed a self-administered questionnaire at the end of the study to determine their satisfaction with the study, difficulties encountered during participation, and willingness to join a similar study in the future. Nearly all of the participants (97%) believed that they would directly benefit from the study; treatment and information from physicians (94%), and more knowledge (92%) and closer monitoring (90%) of their physical condition were often cited as the ways in which the AASK Pilot Study helped. The two most commonly reported problems in the study were side effects from antihypertensive drugs (27%) and travel to and from the clinic (25%). Eighty-two percent of those who completed the survey indicated that they would volunteer for a similar study in the future. We conclude that AASK Pilot Study participants believed that they would benefit directly from the trial and that medical aspects of the trial were of major importance. Side effects from antihypertensive drugs and difficulties in travel to and from the clinic were commonly encountered problems and may hinder long-term participation in the AASK Full-Scale Trial.