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Improving children’s health through medical research
Curing diseases, improving treatments, and eradicating illnesses that were once deadly – these are all medical advancements made possible through research. Medical research requires volunteers, and pediatric medical research requires child volunteers, but the number of people participating in research is much less than needed.
In a 2011 NPCH Report, we found that only 11% of adults and 5% of children across the country have participated in medical research. Additionally, 84% of parents in this Poll said they are not aware of medical research opportunities for children. Read the full report: Most parents unaware of medical research opportunities for their kids.
However, other reports indicate that the public appreciates the importance of pediatric medical research. In a report of Michigan Child Health Research Priorities (M-CHRP), 81% of parents and grandparents across the state of Michigan said they would prefer to take their children/grandchildren to a hospital that does medical research about children given that the hospital provides the same level of care as the non-research hospital. Read the full report (.pdf)
Parents and grandparents in the M-CHRP study were also asked to rate the importance of several types of medical research for improving children’s health. The following are the top five children’s health research priorities according to the adults in this survey:
- Childhood cancers (83%)
- Safety of medications (79%)
- Safety of vaccines (79%)
- Heart problems (76%)
- Causes of infant deaths (74%)
Where do you fall when it comes to medical research for children? Have your children ever participated in medical research, either as a healthy volunteer or as a patient with the illness being studied? What are your main priorities for children’s medical research?