Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Making MR Imaging Child's Play - Pediatric Neuroimaging Protocol, Guidelines and Procedure
15:18

Making MR Imaging Child's Play - Pediatric Neuroimaging Protocol, Guidelines and Procedure

Published on: July 30, 2009

Children as participants in medical research

M A Grodin1, J J Alpert

  • 1Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts.

Pediatric Clinics of North America
|December 1, 1988
PubMed

Insights

Protecting children in research requires careful consideration of risks, benefits, and consent. Evolving ethical standards address challenges posed by vulnerable child populations in studies.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Research Ethics
  • Child Welfare in Clinical Trials

Background:

  • Ethical considerations for pediatric research are complex.
  • Historical and evolving standards guide the use of children in studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the ethical challenges in pediatric research.
  • To discuss the evolution of standards for child subject selection and protection.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of ethical guidelines and case studies.
  • Analysis of historical and contemporary ethical debates in child research.

Main Results:

  • Key ethical questions include justification, risk-benefit assessment, consent, compensation, and subject selection.
  • Subpopulations of vulnerable children present unique ethical concerns.

Conclusions:

  • Ongoing development of ethical and procedural standards is necessary.
  • Addressing the specific needs of vulnerable children in research remains a critical challenge.

Keywords:
Biomedical and Behavioral ResearchDHHS GuidelinesDeclaration of HelsinkiNational Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects

More Related Videos

A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research08:42

A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research

Published on: July 31, 2017

Scanning Dos and Don'ts: Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Awake Children Aged 3 to 5 Years to Assess Brain Structure and Function07:31

Scanning Dos and Don'ts: Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Awake Children Aged 3 to 5 Years to Assess Brain Structure and Function

Published on: March 10, 2026

Related Concept Videos

Group Design02:01

Group Design

The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between the two are due to...
Blind Procedures02:07

Blind Procedures

Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which child was...
Ethics in Research01:56

Ethics in Research

Today, scientists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by a basic respect for human dignity and safety. However, this has not always been the case. Modern researchers must demonstrate that the research they perform is ethically sound.
Clinical Trials01:16

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are prospective experimental studies conducted on humans to determine the safety and efficacy of treatments, drugs, diet methods, and medical devices. Using statistics in clinical trials enables researchers to derive reasonable and accurate conclusions from the collected data, allowing them to make wise decisions in uncertain situations. In medical research, statistical methods are crucial for preventing errors and bias.
There are four phases in a clinical trial. A phase one...
Blinding01:11

Blinding

Blinding is a commonly used method of not telling participants which treatment a subject is receiving. Blinding is a critical part of a randomized control trial or RCT. It reduces the bias that affects the results. In an RCT, blinding is used in the form of a placebo. A placebo effect occurs when untreated subjects falsely believe they have received the treatment and report improved symptoms. A placebo or a dummy treatment is administered to subjects to negate the bias caused by such an effect.