Survey Indicates Americans Favor Including Children in Clinical Trial Research

By Jonathan Springston, Editor, Relias Media

About 85% of survey respondents said it is OK to include children in low-risk clinical trial research that could benefit others. However, this approval rate declined as theoretical risk increased, with fewer respondents likely to include their own children in riskier studies.

Investigators sent links with a 15-minute survey to 2,508 Americans (1,658 responded). Participants were randomly assigned one of four hypothetical scenarios that centered around procedures that pose increasing levels of risk. The authors also asked respondents to account for the social value of the research (i.e., the number of people who could benefit from the subject studied).

Generally, 84.5% of respondents supported the notion of including children in research that would benefit a wide population and poses low risk. About 91% said blood draws were OK, while close to 70% said a bone marrow biopsy was acceptable.

Nearly 61% of respondents said it is acceptable to include children in research with more serious risks if the research would benefit many (e.g., a cure for cancer). But as theoretical risk increased, respondents were less likely to support including children in such research, and even less likely to express willingness to allow their own children to enter such trials.

Nevertheless, it appears there is public support for certain scenarios, providing a roadmap for investigators interested in creating pediatric-centric clinical trials in the future. Look for more on this particular subject and other related topics in upcoming issues of Medical Ethics Advisor.