Current Studies Available
Links for Families
Clinical Research Resources For Families
Nationwide Children’s is an international leader in pediatric research. Our scientists are transforming health in major ways. Currently, Nationwide Children’s is actively involved in more than 1000 clinical research projects. These projects range from small studies that are designed to simply collect information about a disease, to those that investigate the potential new treatments or procedures that are at the forefront of clinical innovation and discovery. Because when searching for a cure, everything matters.
Clinical research takes what scientists discover in the lab and attempts to answer the questions: “Will this work in people?” and “Will this help treat a disease or condition?” Clinical research helps us learn more about health and helps us find better ways to prevent and treat disease and illness.
When you enter Clinical Research Services, located on the 4th floor of Timken Hall at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, you'll see handprints of children who have participated in research studies. These handprints represent the “Children Helping Children Through Research” philosophy and show how children of all ages have volunteered their time to help others who have illnesses similar to their own.
The National Institutes of Health offers more information about children and clinical studies.
A clinical research study is done to see how a specific disease or condition affects people. The research study might be designed to collect data to see what happens to the people who have a disease or condition over a period of time or it might involve providing volunteers with a treatment or therapy to see if it helps the disease or condition.
Children are not miniature adults. As a result, adult treatments may not always work the same way in children. In addition, some conditions only affect children.
Some reasons parents enroll their children into studies include:
- Parents and children with chronic illnesses want to help in some way to improve care for their disease.
- Research caregivers are often able to spend more one-on-one time with research volunteers. Parents often feel as if they receive more personalized care and education.
- Clinical studies often include no-cost diagnostic testing (such as blood tests and x-rays) that may not otherwise be done.
To find out more information about research studies being done at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, call Clinical Research Services at (614) 722-2650.
A member of the research staff will ask you a series of questions about your child’s health and schedule an appointment for you and your child to meet with the study doctor to see if your child is eligible to be in the study.
You may contact the Nationwide Children's Hospital Institutional Review Board (IRB), a committee that reviews all research involving children and adults, at (614) 722-2708
Clinical Research Services Obligations
Our Obligations to our Patients and our Families
- We will treat each family as our priority, providing them with the respect, attention and care that they deserve
- We will remove your child from the study if we feel it is in your child’s best interest to do so
- We will notify you when we receive new information that may affect your willingness to continue in the study
- We will ensure that your visits to Clinical Research Services are comfortable and completed in a timely fashion
Patient Bill of Rights
Anyone participating in a research study has the right:
- To be provided with information about why the study is being done
- To be given information on what will happen during the study (what procedures will be done, how many visits will occur, etc.)
- To be told about any risks or discomfort that may be experienced if you decide to be in the study
- To be told about any benefits from being in the study
- To be given information about alternative therapies and treatments for your condition
- To have the study staff review the study and consent form information with you so that you can ask any questions that you may have
- To be informed of what you should do if you have a complication from being in the study
- To be given information that you may stop being in the study at any time, without compromising your future healthcare
Nationwide Children's Hospital
700 Children's Drive Columbus, Ohio 43205 614.722.2000
700 Children's Drive Columbus, Ohio 43205 614.722.2000