Background: Due to ethical concerns and constraints inherent to research in children, the conduct of clinical trials in children has often been difficult. The views of medical professionals and trainees towards conducting clinical trials in children have been largely unexplored and are potentially important towards working to increase the number of appropriate trials conducted in children.
Objective: To explore the views of Canadian medical school trainees towards paediatric clinical trials and to compare these views with that of an earlier pilot study conducted amongst Canadian and British health care professionals.
Methods: Participants were given a questionnaire which consisted of direct questions as well as scenarios with ethical dilemmas. Responders were asked to state whether they would enter children in the trial documented in the scenario and to justify their reasons.
Results: 89 questionnaires were collected (74% response rate). 42% had formal teaching regarding paediatric ethical dilemmas but only 2% had formal teaching on pharmaceutical testing in children. The students were divided on whether children should only participate in trials where they receive direct benefit. Most students (85%; 95% CI: 77% to 91%) were comfortable with non-inferiority trials even with post-hoc consent. Only a third (33%; 95% CI: 24% to 43%) agreed with the use of placebo in an analgesia trial.
Conclusion: Teaching on the ethics of paediatric clinical trials still appears to be lacking amongst medical trainees. However, there does seem to be increased willingness on the part of trainees compared to practicing medical professionals in enrolling children in clinical trials.