We can thank human research for many medical advances, including vaccines, cures, and new treatments. But when it comes to pediatric research, researchers oftentimes struggle to find willing participants.

Many parents simply are reluctant to allow their children to participate, fearing possible harm to their child, says a new report released earlier this month by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

About 1,500 parents were polled nationwide, with only 30 percent indicating they would be willing to allow their children to participate in medical research involving a new medication. But on the other hand, another recent study I just wrote about here indicates that a whopping 77 percent of parents want only FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved medications for their children.

Catch-22
While I can see the benefit of clinical research studies involving children and how results would ultimately allow for more medicines to gain FDA approval for use in children, I can also understand parents hesitation to enroll their children. While my husband had no qualms about signing up for a research study involving back pain and treatment, I doubt either one of us would just as readily sign our daughter up for a study. She’s not a guinea pig, after all.

Therein lays the catch-22, Dr. Matthew Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the National Poll on Children’s Health, said in a recent phone interview.

“We know that the best way to find out what doses of meds and vaccines will be safe and effective for children depends critically on having children involved in medical studies,” he said.

“We also know that parents want the reassurance of knowing that medicines and vaccines have been tested extensively. But that begs the questions—if we are going to test medicines and vaccines extensively, who is going to participate or who is going to have their children participate?”

Saving lives
Many parents may not realize the impact pediatric research has had on medical advances that have saved and helped countless numbers of children,” said Davis.

“Research has led to the creation of vaccines, many of which have helped eradicate diseases like diphtheria, polio, and small pox within the borders of our country,” he said in a press release. “That’s all thanks to vaccines that have been tested in clinical studies in which children have played a major role.”

What the poll revealed
The National Poll on Children’s Health found that many parents are willing to consider their child’s participation in research if the risk is small, with as many as one-third saying they would be comfortable with research regarding medications that have already been proven safe in adults.

Also interesting to note is that of the 1,500 parents polled, as many as 92 percent stated they had never even been asked to have their child participate in medical research and that many parents are more likely to participate if it is encouraged by their doctor.

“There’s great potential to have even more children participate in research in the future, but we’re not yet reaching a lot of families who would be comfortable with having their children participate,” Davis explained.