Survey: 85% of Americans Support Medical Research in Children

Research that includes children requires careful ethical analysis, particularly when it doesn’t offer a prospect for a benefit for the child involved. Some experts believe it’s always unethical while others argue it’s okay only if the risks are minimal. But a new study, “Acceptable Risks in Pediatric Research: Views of the U.S. Public,” in the January 2022 Pediatrics (available online Dec. 28) found that 85% of survey respondents support pediatric research that poses minimal risk to the child. A total of 60.9% indicated that it can be acceptable to expose children to somewhat higher risks if the study offers greater benefits, such as collecting data that could help identify a cure for cancer. Researchers surveyed the Ipsos Knowledge Panel, the largest online research panel representative of the U.S. population, from June 23 to July 14, 2020, receiving 1,658 responses, and found the public is very supportive of pediatric research that poses some risk to participants. The results were consistent across racial and other demographic lines. For example, 79.5% of Hispanics endorsed pediatric research that does not offer a prospect of participant benefit compared to 85.5% of non-Hispanics. However, respondents indicated they would be less inclined to enroll their own children in medical research. For example, about 50% of respondents said they supported research that poses more serious risks, including a 1 in 100 chance of death in children with a short life expectancy and could identify treatments that extend life for future patients, but only 25% indicated a willingness to enroll their own child in such studies. Researchers concluded that the public supports low-risk pediatric research and to a lesser extent pediatric research with somewhat higher risks, and these findings could be useful for researchers considering pediatric clinical trials.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.