In a recent study, LDI Senior Fellow Nadir Yehya, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, highlighted the need for more diversity in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) studies.
Yehya’s team examined consent rates in the PICU at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. They found that multiple social and demographic factors led to lower rates of consent. However, when only those who were approached for research studies were considered, many of these disparities disappeared, although Black children remained less likely to participate.
The study revealed that lower rates of approach, such as parents not being at the bedside for consent or the need for an interpreter, were significant factors in the disparate rates of consent1. Yehya suggests that most disparities can be partly or completely mitigated by improving approaches.
Yehya emphasized the need to approach parents on their terms, suggesting solutions such as greater use of telephone consent, more use of DocuSign or app/text technology for consent documentation, increased use of interpreter services, and staggered staffing of research coordinator teams to cover evenings.
This study underscores the importance of considering equity when designing consents and highlights the need for non-English forms and IRB-approved uses of interpreters before a non-English speaking subject becomes eligible.
“To Get More Diversity in Child ICU Studies, Doctors Need to Ask Parents More Often For Consent” (June 21, 2024)
