Children’s Research

By: Scotia O.

Edited by: Shelomith H.

What is Children’s Research?

Children’s research is devoted to researching, developing cures, and treatment for children. The topics of research are, but not limited to, cancer, brain development, nutrition, behavioral topics, child immunizations, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), medications, environmental factors that can influence overall health, catastrophic diseases, etc. Topics of research generally span from all pediatric age ranges (0-18) however more specialized topics can have specialized age ranges. An example of such a research topic could be brain development in response to nutrition at age 5. Children’s research has allowed for previously deadly diseases, such as measles, yellow fever, and smallpox, to no longer pose a substantial health risk to children today in the United States and many other countries. Researchers connect from around the world to exchange information and study findings on the success of different research projects and treatments, all aimed at one goal - to help children live long, healthy lives.

Importance of Children’s Research

Conducting and participating in children’s research helps provide information that allows children to live long, healthy lives; it enables the next generation to have access to life-saving treatment, information, and vaccines. However, an ongoing issue in the field is that not all possible treatments are able to be researched currently. Pharmaceutical companies are not as interested in investing in children’s research in comparison to standard or conventional research (adult-focused) because children’s treatments are a rare, specialized market. It is much easier for those companies to obtain a significant return on their investment in treatments that concern or benefit adults since it encompasses a larger percentage of the general population. On the downside, this leaves children with limited treatment options. In addition, groups such as the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), who treat 90% of pediatric cancer patients, have faced federal funding cuts over the past 10 years.

Phases of Research

So, how do researchers develop new treatments for kids? All researchers, no matter their subject of research and who it is designed for, are involved in clinical trials. Clinical trials are incredibly important in deciphering what works and what does not. It presents an opportunity for patients to try new, cutting-edge medicine when traditional treatment has not succeeded. The primary objectives of clinical trials are to determine if a treatment is safe by identifying its effectiveness, potential side effects, and it’s proficiency in comparison to the traditional treatment. Patients in all phases are supervised very closely under time durations to ascertain safety. For children especially, there are certain ethics procedures and standards all trials must reach to guarantee utmost most patient safety. If you have been following the research findings of the COVID-19 vaccine, you might have heard about the different phases of clinical trials. Here are the phases, in more detail, that researchers must undergo during the clinical trials:

The duration of clinical trials vary, but are typically approximately 4 years long collectively. Depending on the topic of the clinical trial, each phase can take up to several months or even over a year. Not to mention, the treatment must undergo a lengthy FDA approval process. Nevertheless, when a treatment has gone through the extensive research and clinical trial phases, it has the ability to help save children’s lives as well as allow them to lead healthy lives.

Children’s Research & You!

Researchers aren’t the only ones involved in children's research. Pediatricians, nurses, specialists, medical assistants, and parents are equally as involved in children’s research. Everyone can help play a part in enabling children to live their best lives, from conducting research, to participating in clinical trials, to helping families locate clinical trials, or advocating for the importance of children’s research.

To find out more on what is currently being discovered in children’s research or how you can help, check out the United States’ Top 5 Children Research Hospitals: