Typical methods of participant recruitment in clinical trials can be dull and off-putting to children and teens. For example, reading documents with information about your study and participating in long informed assent meetings can leave young people feeling even more confused and overwhelmed about deciding whether or not to participate in your study, as was described in an earlier blog. Contrary to typical methods of participant recruitment, DigiKnowIt News uses a unique approach to capturing the curiosity and interest of young people to motivate them to learn more about your study. Its customization capabilities allow for your DigiKnowIt News website to reflect the goals and methods of your specific study while also piquing the interest of potential participants. By engaging young people with information about clinical trials in an engaging and understandable way, DigiKnowIt News may help young people to feel more comfortable when making a decision about whether or not to participate in your study, which should ultimately improve your participation rates.

One type of online activity used in the DigiKnowIt News website to engage and excite youth is interactive Investigations, where children and adolescents can explore a variety of different topics that are relevant to participation in your clinical trial in developmentally relevant ways.

How do DigiKnowIt News’ Investigations engage children and teens with information about clinical trials?

Children have very different interests than adolescents when they interact with websites. For example, children like digital comic books, animations, and graphic illustrations, whereas teens like videos, more text-based interactive elements, and informational graphics such as charts and graphs. For these reasons, DigiKnowIt News’ Investigations for children are delivered in a highly interactive, game-like format, while the Investigations for teens are briefer and contain more complex topics, videos, definitions, and facts. The website was designed so that researchers can customize their version of the DigiKnowIt News website to reflect the recruitment needs of their clinical trial, and so that it will be interesting and developmentally appropriate for children (aged 8 to 12 years) or for adolescents (aged 13 to 18 years).

Because of these developmental differences in learning preferences, each Investigation for children includes an assignment to gather information about a clinical trials-related topic by having them become an “investigative journalist.” These Investigations involve completing several different activities such as role-playing interviewing a researcher, hearing testimonies from other children who have participated in a clinical trial, completing an interactive activity, or watching animated videos. Their goal in gathering information through these activities is to write a fake blog that they believe would help other children when they are deciding whether to participate in a clinical trial. Children earn points for completing activities to motivate them to complete the Investigations.

In contrast, each Investigation for teens includes six different types of activities, and teens can choose to interact with one or more of the activities. One example of an activity is the “DigiKnowThat” section, where teens click on attributes within infographics to reveal interesting facts about clinical trials as well as learn answers to frequently asked questions about clinical trials. A second type of activity included in the Investigations is called “DigiTube” where teens learn about clinical trials from entertaining videos. “DigiTube” was created because many teens enjoy watching videos on YouTube to entertain themselves or learn more about a specific topic. A third type of activity is the “DigiSearch” which is designed to look like a search engine that teens can interact with to learn definitions for commonly used terms in clinical trials, types of procedures used in clinical trials, and roles of people involved in clinical trials. During each activity in the Investigations, teens can choose to click an icon that will save information from the activity to their digital notepad, so they can refer later to information they learned from the activity.

In addition to the unique activities in the website that are designed for different age groups, there are also some features that are universal across age groups. For example, both the child and adolescent versions of DigiKnowIt News include videotaped scenarios, called “Human Interest Stories,” with examples of real-life situations that can happen in clinical trials. The scenarios that are included in the website had been suggested by youth during the development of DigiKnowIt News. Examples of some scenarios include having a conversation with a parent to weigh the benefits and risks of participating in a trial, asking questions to a nurse before getting an IV as part of a clinical trial, and asking a researcher questions as they review assent forms together. While watching each scenario, children and teens are presented with opportunities to choose what happens next in the scenario, which allows them to practice their decision-making skills about potential research participation in the future.

What do children and teens learn from DigiKnowIt News’ Investigations?

One barrier to recruiting children and teens for clinical trials is that they do not understand what it means to participate in a clinical trial. Therefore, there are four Investigations that focus on essential information related to participating in a clinical trial that are included as options in both the child and teen versions:

  1. The Mystery of the Clinical Trials/Clinical Trials 101: When presented with the opportunity to participate in a trial, many young people do not understand what a clinical trial is or why they are important. In this Investigation, youth learn facts, definitions, and concepts related to participating in a clinical trial, and why it is important to participate in them. The child version of this Investigation is called “The Mystery of the Clinical Trials,” and the teen version is called “Clinical Trials 101.”
  2. Know Your Rights: Some young people may be hesitant to participate in a clinical trial if they think that they might become unsafe or uncomfortable during a trial and have no way out. In this Investigation, youth learn about their rights and safety when participating in a clinical trial, and what is informed consent and assent. There are two separate versions of this Investigation for children and teens.
  3. Good and Not So Good/Benefits and Costs: Some young people may choose to not participate in a trial if they think they will not benefit from their participation or if they are not sure what sacrifices they will have to make to participate. In this Investigation, youth learn about the potential benefits and costs of participating in a clinical trial. The child version of this Investigation is called “Good and Not So Good,” and the teen version is called “Benefits and Costs.”
  4. Who to Talk to/Communication is Key: Young people may feel hesitant to participate in a trial if they think that they will be alone in their experience or will have no help to navigate their confusion or challenges during their participation. In this Investigation, youth learn the different roles of people involved in conducting clinical trials, and how to communicate about the trial with parents, researchers, and medical professionals. The child version of this Investigation is called “Who to Talk to,” and the teen version is called “Communication is Key.”

DigiKnowIt News also contains several other Investigations that researchers can include in their custom website to educate potential participants about specific medical procedures that are commonly used in clinical trials:

  1. Needles: When deciding whether to participate in a clinical trial that includes receiving IVs or injections as part of participation, children and teens may feel afraid that the procedures may be painful or not understand what the procedure entails. In this Investigation, youth learn about needle procedures such as blood draws. There are two separate versions of this Investigation for children and teens.
  2. Scans: Participating in a trial that includes getting an MRI or CT scan may be nerve wracking for young people who have fears of small spaces or loud noises or for young people who have not received a scan before. In this Investigation, youth learn about scans such as MRIs. There are two separate versions of this Investigation for children and teens.
  3. Sedation and Anesthesia: Young people may feel hesitant to participate in a trial that includes receiving sedation or anesthesia because some children and teens may feel uncomfortable with the idea of being unconscious or experiencing symptoms when recovering from sedation or anesthesia. In this Investigation, youth learn about different types of sedation and anesthesia such as local and general anesthesia and sedative and anti-anxiety medication. This Investigation is only available in a version for teens.
  4. Organ Testing: Some young people may feel nervous about participating in a trial that includes receiving organ testing procedures because these procedures may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable for them. In this Investigation, youth learn about different tests of organ functioning such as spirometry, pulse oximetry, electrocardiogram (ECG), urinalysis, and biopsies. This Investigation is only available in a version for teens.
  5. Behavioral Treatments: Behavioral treatments may also be unfamiliar to young people, which may make them feel hesitant to participate in a clinical trial that includes receiving behavioral treatments. In this Investigation, youth learn about clinical trials that use interventions that do not include drugs or medicines. These trials examine how behavioral treatments improve health behaviors (e.g., sleep, nutrition, exercise). This Investigation is only available in a version for teens.

These Investigations target youth fears about certain medical procedures that may be unfamiliar to them. By knowing what to expect from participating in specific medical procedures, children and adolescents may not feel as apprehensive about participating in a clinical trial that involves medical procedures.

DigiKnowIt News’ Investigations are highly appealing to active learners who learn best from visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing activities. The Investigations contribute to DigiKnowIt News’ ability to appeal to and engage a variety of youth, so each research study can recruit their target participant population.

To view a free demo of DigiKnowIt News’ Investigations and explore how DigiKnowIt News may be useful for your study, complete the form at https://digiknowit.com/free-version/.