Clinical trial education (current teaching practice)

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN) would like to know current teaching practice around clinical trials/medical research and would appreciate your views.

The Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN) is a Department of Health funded initiative and is part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network. The MCRN provides researchers with the practical support they need to make paediatric studies happen in the NHS, so that more research takes place across England, and more patients can take part.

Central to the MCRN is patient and public involvement as high quality research, good accrual and retention rates, and improved outcomes for children, depend on listening to the voices of families and carers and, most importantly, children and young people themselves, and taking account of their experiences, priorities and perspectives.

From the outset the MCRN recognised the need for a systematic effort to raise awareness amongst young people about the importance of paediatric research and how clinical trials are carried out. One way of raising awareness with young people is through the medium of school as this provides a perfect opportunity for young people to learn about medicines and medical research and its importance to their health.

We would like to find out about current teaching practices in school and would greatly appreciate the completion of an online questionnaire. A report of key findings will be placed on these pages in due course.