An online survey to assess parents' preferences for learning about child health research.
Lisa Knisley, Anne Le, Shannon D Scott
PMID 34390222WHAT IT FOUND
Parents preferred learning about child health research through GP/pediatric visits, school or community newsletters, provider emails, and clinic posters.
They wanted email updates on study progress and results. These are preferences, not proven methods.
Key findings
01Parents preferred hearing about child health research opportunities from their child's general practitioner/pediatric appointments (88.4%), school newsletters (87.1%), provider emails (85.8%), clinic waiting room posters (85.8%), and community centre newsletters (84.5%).
0272.7% wanted information about studies their child had participated in, and 100% wanted information about study results.
0383.2% agreed or strongly agreed that supports such as travel and child care are important for participating in research.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 77 of 261 invited parents responded (30% response rate). The survey was only available in English and required online access. Participants were mostly female, married, highly educated, and high income, so they may not represent parents facing access barriers. Participants were already engaged with the health system as advisory group members or research participants. Parents self-identified and were not verified as parents. The survey was developed by the study team and had only face validity. It did not explore children's or youth's preferences. The study was a consultation survey of preferences, not a test of recruitment methods.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these preferences as proof that using these channels will increase recruitment. The survey only asked parents what they preferred, did not test recruitment outcomes, and the sample was small, English-only, and already engaged with research.