Exploring perceptions and attitudes towards biobanking at the University of Malta

Abstract

This dissertation will explore the attitudes and perceptions towards biobanking of individuals at the University of Malta. Biobanking entails contributing DNA samples or other biospecimen to biobanks for research purposes with the aim of bettering public healthcare. This can be seen as a new area of sociological research, especially locally. This is what intrigued me in conducting research on the following topic. A qualitative research design was used to gather data via semi-structured interviews with students and academics at the University of Malta, n=5. Thematic analysis was applied to the data, where the key themes outlined were: risk, trust, informed consent and transparency. Analysis includes discussion of Marcel Mauss鈥檚 theory of gift exchange in relation to the act of biobanking.