Piersson, Albert D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0269, Amartey, Christiana, Quartei, Sarah Teiko, Dzefi-Tettey, Klenam ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6322-5341, Sefogah, Promise Emmanuel and Lopez, Aquel Rene (2026) Maternal Willingness to Participate in Research Involving Neuroimaging, Biological Sample Collection, and Data Storage: Towards a Multicentre Neurodevelopmental Research in a low-resource setting. openRxiv.

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Abstract

Background Maternal participation in neurodevelopmental research involving neuroimaging and diverse biological samples is essential for understanding prenatal influences on early brain development, yet willingness in low-resource settings remains underexplored. Method We surveyed 300 mothers using a structured questionnaire to assess willingness to undergo brain health testing (with a focus on electroencephalography [EEG] and brain magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]), provide biological samples (blood, stool, urine, breast milk, placenta, amniotic fluid, vaginal/nasal fluid, saliva, tears), and consent to 10-year storage. Responses were analysed to examine associations between maternal sociodemographic factors and willingness to consent for each research component. Results Ninety-two percent of participants expressed willingness for brain health testing, including ∼82% and ∼88% interest in EEG and MRI, respectively, even for untreatable conditions. Self-reported histories of foetal defects (5.3%) and birth defects (7.3%) were notably low. Biospecimen acceptance was highest (>95%) for routine samples (blood, stool, urine) but significantly low for sensitive specimens (breast milk, placenta, amniotic fluid: 51–55%) including (vaginal fluid, saliva, tears: 16–47%). Higher levels of maternal education consistently predicted consent across modalities, while being in a relationship increased willingness for stool, urine, placenta, amniotic fluid, MRI, and EEG. Low income reduced uptake for placenta, amniotic fluid, MRI, and EEG. Only 48% consented to 10-year storage of images and samples for future research. Conclusion This study demonstrates high maternal willingness for neurodevelopmental research involving brain health testing and routine biospecimens in a low-resource setting. The findings highlight the feasibility of such protocols in a low-resource setting while exposing persistent inequities that risk underrepresenting disadvantaged mothers in maternal-child brain research. Contextually tailored consent models and capacity-building initiatives will be essential to ensure equitable, sustainable engagement across diverse LMIC populations.

Item Type:	Other
Status:	Published
DOI:	10.64898/2026.02.22.26346849
School/Department:	School of Science, Technology and Health
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/14132

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