The attitudes of healthy children and researchers towards the challenges of involving children in research: an exploratory study

Research Priorities of the Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury Population: An International Insight for Rehabilitation Care

BACKGROUND

Although feedback from people with adult-onset spinal cord injury (SCI) has been considered for new rehabilitation programs, little is known about the priorities of the pediatric-onset SCI population. This study describes and compares health and life (H&L) domain research priorities of youth with pediatric-onset SCI and their parents/caregivers.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey, designed by the Pan-European Paediatric Spinal Cord Injury (PEPSCI) Collaboration, was performed at six European countries. Dyad data from 202 participants, youth with pediatric-onset SCI (n = 101) and their parents/caregivers (n = 101), were analyzed with the PEPSCI H&L domain surveys.

RESULTS

The cohort was composed of 8 to 12-year-olds (30.7%), 13 to 17-year-olds (38.6%), and 18 to 25-year-olds (30.7%). The top three H&L domain research priorities reported by parents/caregivers of 8 to 12-year-olds were "walking/ability to move" (91%), "bladder" function (90%), and "general health/feel" (89%), compared with "physical function" (93%), "general health/feel" (90%), and "walking/ability to move" (89%) rated by parents/caregivers of 13 to 25-year-olds. "Bowel" function (85%), "leg/foot movement" (84%), and "bladder" function (84%) were reported as priorities by 13 to 25-year-olds, whereas "physical function" (84%), "experience at school" (83%), and "general mood" were highlighted by 8 to 12-year-olds. The top 10 priorities preferred by 13 to 25-year-olds when compared with the top 10 priorities reported by their parents/caregivers, included problems related to "bowel" and "pain."

CONCLUSIONS

Health domain research priorities were highlighted by 13 to 25-year-olds, compared with their parents/caregivers who equally identified H&L domains. This survey will aid health care and clinical research organizations to engage stakeholders to implement a comprehensive research strategy for the pediatric SCI population.

Involving adolescents in the design, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of health research: an umbrella review protocol

INTRODUCTION

A lack of awareness on how to engage adolescents in research has been reported as one of the barriers to meaningful youth involvement in health research. Currently, available guidelines on youth involvement are limited in terms of the scope (e.g., focused on limited health research areas), content (e.g., include broad principles) and context (e.g., most guidelines are from high-income countries) for which the guidelines are applicable. To address this, we will develop a set of comprehensive guidelines based on consolidated evidence on youth involvement in health research. To inform these guidelines, we are first conducting an umbrella review to (1) summarise and synthesise findings from reviews on involving adolescents in health research, (2) consolidate the challenges experienced in youth involvement and the recommendations to mitigate these challenges, (3) identify best practices and (4) identify gaps and methodological weaknesses in the extant literature on involving adolescents in health research.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will include review articles exploring adolescents' involvement in studies aiming to improve their physical or mental health. Databases to be searched include Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Epistemonikos and Health Systems Evidence. A grey literature search will be conducted in Web of Science, ProQuest, Google Scholar and PROSPERO, supplemented by a handsearch of the reference lists of eligible reviews, relevant journals, websites of related organisations and input from experts. Data will be analysed using narrative synthesis.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required as we are not collecting participant data as part of this review. The findings of this umbrella review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, participatory workshops and academic conferences.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021287467.

‘ZOOMing’ in on Consulting with Children and Parents Remotely to Co-Create Health Information Resources

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the way many people worked. Remote and creative ways were favoured and utilised for consultation activities. In this paper, we draw attention to how we have used creative methods over the teleconferencing platform ‘ZOOM’ to consult with children and their parents when we were unable to consult with them face-to-face. We document a clear timeline of how we have worked together to co-create an animation and information sheet about receiving outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT). We identify the opportunities and challenges we faced.

Including the child's voice in research from a longitudinal birth cohort: insights from the ROLO young person's advisory group

BACKGROUND

Public and patient involvement (PPI) through Young Person's Advisory Groups (YPAG) enables children to provide guidance and insight into research activities. PPI is an important characteristic of research, however, to date, most collaboration has been with adults. Also, few YPAGs have been established within the Irish setting. The ROLO (Randomised cOntrol trial of a LOw glycaemic index diet in pregnancy to prevent macrosomia) YPAG was established in July 2020 to identify the research priorities of a group of healthy Irish children who are part of a longitudinal birth cohort. We aimed to describe this process and the key insights to date.

METHODS

The ROLO study is a longitudinal birth cohort which has followed-up mother-child dyads at multiple timepoints over 10 years. Mothers actively involved in the study were contacted by the research team to invite their ROLO child and older sibling to participate in the YPAG. Meetings were conducted virtually between July 2020 and February 2022. Researchers encouraged free expression of views amongst the children regarding their research interests. Meetings were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed for themes based on the topics most frequently discussed and considered important to participants.

RESULTS

In all, seven ROLO children and six older siblings attended four ROLO YPAG meetings. Participants were aged between nine to fifteen years old. Four key themes were identified; study children viewed their identity as part of a longitudinal birth cohort as positive and unique; study children considered the fitness test and body measurements as fun aspects related to their participation; all children considered the impact and use of social media as an important form of communication; and all participants expressed interest in attaining new health-related information and learning opportunities. Children suggested topics such as mental health, future viruses, organ transplants, cancer, and the effect of technology and chemicals on the body were important for future research.

CONCLUSION

The ROLO YPAG offers promising scope for continued collaboration. The themes identified from the meetings contribute to a gap in the literature which will guide future research activities, particularly with children, in view of study design, relevance, and by communication strategies. Trial Details: ISRCTN54392969 registered at www.isrctn.com .

Developing a More Tailored Approach to Patient and Public Involvement with Children and Families in Pediatric Clinical Research: Lessons Learned

Listening to, and acting on, the voices of children and families during clinical research and innovation is fundamental to ensuring enhanced pediatric health care, medicines development, and technological advances. While this is often discussed as an important step in ensuring patient-centered care, involving children and families across the life cycle of clinical research is not currently routine. The pediatric research community needs to address how to meaningfully involve children and families if they are to succeed in designing clinical research that suits the needs of pediatric patients and their families. This paper describes how an international community working under the umbrella International Children’s Advisory Network (iCAN) and European Young Person’s Advisory Group Network (eYPAGnet) has involved children and families in the design and delivery of pediatric clinical research. It offers practical solutions through various case studies assessed against seven patient engagement quality criteria within the Patient Engagement Quality Guidance (PEQG) tool, highlighting some of the lessons learnt from involving and engaging with children and families across different stages of clinical research, including pediatric trials for drug development programs.

Health and LifeDomain ResearchPriorities in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults With Pediatric-Onset Spinal Cord Injury: A National Cross-Sectional Survey in England

Background

Although feedback from people with adult-onset spinal cord injury (SCI) has been considered in developing research programs, little is known about pediatric-onset SCI priorities.

Objectives

To describe the health and life (H&L) domain research priorities of youth with pediatric-onset SCI living in England.

Methods

Youth with pediatric-onset SCI (≥6 months) were recruited from five English rehabilitation centers and invited with their parents/caregivers to complete the age-appropriate surveys designed by the Pan-European Paediatric Spinal Cord Injury (PEPSCI) collaboration.

Results

A total of 73 surveys were received (32 from participants with SCI and 41 from their parents/caregivers), providing information on 47 individuals with SCI: 2- to 7-year-olds (29.8%), 8- to 12-year-olds (19.2%), 13- to 17-year-olds (17.0%), and 18 to 25-year-olds (34.0%). The top three research priorities reported by parents/caregivers of 2- to 12-year-old and 13- to 25-year-olds were pain (81%/89%), physical function (91%/83%) and health care access (78%/78%). Eighty-nine percent of 8- to 12-year-olds emphasized schooling, peer relationships, and general mood as their research priorities. The top three research priorities for Health or Life domains reported by 13- to 25-year-olds included spasms (95%), pain (91%), pressure injuries (91%), health care access (83%), physical function (78%), and daily personal needs (74%).

Conclusion

Although there should be an emphasis on addressing important life domain issues for 8- to 12-year-olds with SCI, adolescents and young adults mostly prioritized health domain research priorities in addition to health care access. This survey will aid health care and clinical research organizations to engage stakeholders to implement a comprehensive SCI research strategy in England for the pediatric population.