Gender-related facilitators and barriers to participation in research on aging using fuzzy cognitive mapping.

Both older women and men shared four key categories of factors influencing research participation: individual psychological motivators, quality of communication with the research team, logistic considerations, and research-specific practices.

• These shared factors were identified through fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) co-created individually with research participants.
• Factors and their inter-relationships were standardized across maps, categorized through thematic analysis, and organized into group-level causal networks using graph theory methods.
• These shared factors applied across genders regardless of the type of cognitive neuroscience research being considered.

Prior personal and professional experiences were identified as a dissociable facilitating factor specific to older women's research engagement.

• This factor was identified as distinct from those shared across genders.
• The finding was derived from group-level causal network analysis following thematic categorization of individual FCM maps.
• This factor was not identified as a primary driver for men's participation in the same analysis.

Willingness to return benefits to the general population was identified as a dissociable facilitating factor specific to older men's research participation.

• This altruistic or prosocial motivator distinguished men's participation considerations from women's.
• The factor was identified through the same FCM and graph theory methodology used to identify shared factors.
• This factor was not identified as a primary driver for women's participation in the corresponding analysis.

Older women are often overrepresented in observational research on aging while men are overrepresented in clinical trials, reflecting a selection bias that is currently poorly understood.

• This gender-based selection bias exists both between and across genders in research on aging.
• The authors describe the factors underlying this selection bias as 'currently poorly understood.'
• Addressing this knowledge gap was cited as critical for improving 'generalizability, robustness, and reproducibility' of research findings.

Fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) was employed as a participatory method to co-create individual maps identifying factors and their inter-relationships that encouraged or hindered research participation.

• FCM is described as 'a method that facilitates participation in research and action.'
• Maps were co-created individually with each research participant.
• Factors were subsequently standardized across maps, subjected to thematic analysis, and organized into group-level causal networks using graph theory methods.
• The method allowed identification of both shared and gender-dissociable factors.

The findings are intended to guide development of sampling strategies that enable equitable access to research and enhanced sample representativeness among women and men in research on aging.

• The authors position the results as providing 'insights to guide the development of sampling strategies.'
• Goals include achieving 'equitable access to research and enhanced sample representativeness among women and men.'
• The study addresses gaps in knowledge needed to mitigate selection bias in aging research.