The National Institutes of Health Data Management and Sharing (DMS) policy (NOT-OD-21-013) mandates the submission of a Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP) for all NIH-funded research that generates scientific data. However, little information is available about how academic medical centers have implemented the policy.

The study aimed to characterize our institution’s implementation of the DMS policy and compare structured versus unstructured approaches to producing policy-conformant DMSPs.

We monitored all NIH grant submissions from our institution for 18 months, evaluating policy implementation through DMSP completeness and reviewer comments during the Just-in-Time period. A rubric was developed to assess whether each required DMSP element and sub-element was addressed. Eight DMSP templates (three NIH-provided, five institutionally developed) and two categories of investigator-created DMSPs were scored. Researchers’ feedback was collected through surveys and interviews.

79.3% of submitted DMSPs addressed all NIH-required DMSP elements. Element-level compliance ranged from 98.9% (data type) to 82.7% (tools and software). Sub-element scores showed greater variability, with 98.9% completion for data description and 49.3% for data generation. Unstructured DMSPs consistently underperformed compared to structured DMSPs. Survey and interview feedback, along with reviewer comments, reinforced these findings.

A notable 20.7% of DMSPs omitted one or more required elements, indicating a need for improved DMS policy conformance. Structured DMSP templates demonstrated greater alignment with NIH policy. We recommend using structured templates to enhance the quality and consistency of data management and sharing plans.

Chronic pain research studies are important for both finding new treatments and improving existing treatments for individuals with chronic pain. For clinical trials to be effective, participants need to be engaged and willing to participate in treatment groups. Our research applies the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand how attitudes, perceived social norms, and perceived control over intervention engagement are associated with willingness to participate in interventions for chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Adult Michigan Medicine patients were identified using electronic medical records and emailed a link to an online, cross-sectional survey. Participants who self-reported CLBP, ability to read and write in English, and consented to participate were able to complete the survey (N = 405).

The results showed more positive attitudes, positive social norms, and higher perceived behavioral control related to specific chronic low back pain interventions are associated with greater willingness to participate after controlling for demographic and pain-related characteristics.

The findings suggest that TPB constructs may be useful in guiding recruitment efforts for chronic pain intervention trials.

Trust in biomedical research is essential, multidimensional, and shaped by individual experiences, culture, and communication. Participants’ trust relies on researchers’ commitment to ethical practices. As public trust in science declines due to misinformation and disinformation campaigns, biomedical researchers (BmRs) must ensure trust and cultivate trustworthiness. This study explores BmR’s perspectives on trust and trustworthiness.

We employed a qualitative, phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of BmRs. Through purposive sampling via the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, we invited BmRs to participate in semi-structured interviews. We employed rapid qualitative analysis (RQA) to identify key themes from interviews with BmRs. This action-oriented approach enables a research team to efficiently summarize experiences and perspectives, using structured templates and matrixes for systematic analysis and interpretation.

Fourteen BmRs were interviewed. Volunteer demographics were collected for race/ethnicity, gender, faculty rank, and investigator experience level. The following domains were identified: individual trust and trustworthiness, institutional trustworthiness, and trust and equity as a crucial part of structural and social drivers of health.

We recognize that BmRs are dedicated to health equity and addressing disparities. However, in addition to committing to “best practices,” BmRs should prioritize actions that foster genuine trust from the communities they serve. More development opportunities are needed for reflection of what it means to be trusted by research volunteers and communities. Furthermore, intentions alone aren’t sufficient; earned trust and trustworthiness are vital.