School of Nursing and Midwifery, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Health Research Board - Trials Methodology Research Network, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Trials. 2020 Feb 19;21(1):208. doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-4130-9.
The Health Research Board-Trials Methodology Research Network (HRB-TMRN) celebrates International Clinical Trials Day with the help of the younger members of our community through the Network's 'Schools Teaching Awareness of Randomised Trials (START)' initiative. START seeks to increase public awareness of randomised trials in Ireland. Launched in 2016, it asks children (8-12 years old) to conduct and report their very own fun randomised trial. The study reported in this paper sought to explore children and teachers perceptions and experiences of the START initiative.
We conducted eight, one-to one interviews with teachers and eight focus groups with 61 children who took part in the 2018 START initiative. Interviews and focus groups were recorded and transcribed and the data analysed using template analysis.
The findings of this study highlight the benefits of participating in START and the areas of the initiative that required further attention. Teachers and children recalled the benefits of experiential learning associated with START and learning by doing encouraged a fun way of engaging with trial processes. By recalling all aspects of planning, conducting and reporting their trial, the children in this study demonstrated their awareness of the trial processes. The teachers suggested that START provides a valuable framework to contribute to key aspects of the primary school curriculum in Ireland. The experiences of these participants also provided recommendation for improving the programme for future START participants.
Increasing public awareness and understanding of randomised trials can help increase public engagement in trials. By educating children about the importance of trials and supporting them to 'learn by doing' by carrying out their own trial, the START initiative can contribute substantially to children's awareness and understanding of trial processes. Given that children are the public, the patients and the researchers of the future, initiatives such as START deserve attention.
健康研究委员会-试验方法学研究网络（HRB-TMRN）在社区年轻成员的帮助下庆祝国际临床试验日，通过网络的“学校教育随机试验意识（START）”计划。START 旨在提高爱尔兰公众对随机试验的认识。该计划于 2016 年启动，要求儿童（8-12 岁）进行并报告他们自己的有趣的随机试验。本文报道的研究旨在探讨儿童和教师对 START 计划的看法和经验。
我们对 8 名教师和 8 组 61 名参加 2018 年 START 计划的儿童进行了一对一访谈和焦点小组讨论。对访谈和焦点小组进行了录音和转录，并使用模板分析对数据进行了分析。
这项研究的结果强调了参与 START 的好处，以及该计划需要进一步关注的领域。教师和儿童回忆起与 START 相关的体验式学习和边做边学的好处，这鼓励了一种有趣的方式参与试验过程。通过回忆他们计划、进行和报告试验的所有方面，本研究中的儿童展示了他们对试验过程的认识。教师们认为 START 为爱尔兰小学课程的关键方面提供了一个有价值的框架。这些参与者的经验还为改进未来 START 参与者的项目提供了建议。
提高公众对随机试验的认识和理解有助于增加公众对试验的参与。通过教育儿童试验的重要性，并支持他们通过自己的试验“边做边学”，START 计划可以大大提高儿童对试验过程的认识和理解。鉴于儿童是未来的公众、患者和研究人员，像 START 这样的计划值得关注。
