Award-Winning Short Film On Pediatric Clinical Research Provides Parents With Answers

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 07 Oct 2008 - 8:00 PST

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New England Research Institutes, Inc. (NERI), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) today announced that their short film, No More Hand Me Downs: Research Designed for Children, has been awarded three Telly Awards in the categories of Children's Health, Medical Education and General Interest. NERI and the NHLBI partnered to produce the 10-minute film to provide reliable and sensitive information to parents about children in clinical research. The film is available as part of a comprehensive Web site on clinical trials in children at http://www.childrenandclinicalstudies.nhlbi.nih.gov.

Enrolling children into clinical studies continually presents challenges to state of the science research. Because only a small portion of treatments used for children are tested in children, it is critical to test the safety and efficacy in children. Most parents have limited information on clinical research and therefore are hesitant to consent their child. To address the need for critical information about pediatric clinical research, NERI and the NHLBI developed the comprehensive short film, No More Hand Me Downs: Research Designed for Children and related Web site to educate parents on all aspects of a pediatric clinical research study. The Web site combines leading expertise in clinical trials for pediatrics and award winning media development. As a result, the compelling resources provide important educational information about pediatric trial participation in a way that parents can understand.

"The National Institutes of Health and NHLBI are committed to patient education," says Lisa D. Marceau, Vice President of Media and Communications at NERI. "They were incredibly insightful about issues that are important to parents of healthy and sick children when considering trial participation. This wonderful collaboration with NHLBI allows us to provide parents with user-friendly resources that they can visit at home. Ultimately it's about making the parent feel well-informed and empowered when making a decision about pediatric clinical research," says Marceau.

No More Hand Me Downs: Research Designed for Children is now available as a comprehensive Web site for parents and children considering participation in a pediatric clinical trial. These educational resources address issues such as why research is done in children, what it means to be part of a trial, terms parents should know, questions parents should ask, and the importance of safety. Information on the Web site is presented by pediatric patients and their parents who have been asked to participate in a trial. Experts in pediatric research (such as Dr. Renee Jenkins, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Dr. Dave Wendler, a leading clinical bioethicist) also comment during the program to provide a full picture of clinical trial participation.

About NHLBI

As part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. Information about NHLBI is available online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

About NERI

NERI provides an unmatched portfolio of clinical and epidemiological research service to both the private and public sectors. Since its founding in 1986, NERI has earned widespread recognition for its scientific credibility, efficiency and expertise in conducting clinical trials in a variety of medical specialties. NERI has an impressive track record working on Phase II, III and IV multi-site clinical trials. As well, NERI has two decades of award winning expertise in the development and dissemination of educational materials for all audiences including medical professionals, children and parents. For more information, visit http://www.neriscience.com.

During this project, the team worked closely with award winning producer, Maureen Ryan, President of Hands On Productions, New York for the high quality production of the video material.

Researchers, health care providers and parents can go online to view the Web site at http://www.childrenandclinicalstudies.nhlbi.nih.gov.

NERI