Pediatric recruitment stalling? Needle fear may be the barrier you’re overlooking.1

Bar chart showing prevalence of needle fear by age, including >50% for children, 20-50% for adolescents, and 20-30% for adults.

Needle fear impacts youth avoidance of medical procedures.  More than half of children and even more than 20% of teens and adults are afraid of needles.1

What does this mean for you? If your research protocol includes blood draws, injections, or IV procedures, you may be fighting an uphill battle, because you are recruiting from a fear-sensitive population.

Flow diagram showing needle fear leading to avoidance of medical procedures, which may impact recruitment and retention in pediatric clinical trials.

Needle fear is a predictable, measurable barrier to enrollment in research, but it’s also addressable. DigiKnowIt News is a website built for and with youth that reduces emotional barriers to research participation before consent discussions begin.

Screenshot from DigiKnowIt News learning activities teaching youth about IVs, blood draws, and injections.

The DigiKnowIt News website educates youth about research and medical procedures that may be included in clinical trials, including needle procedures.

In peer-reviewed evaluations, DigiKnowIt News significantly outcomes related to clinical trial participation in youth including:

  • Knowledge
  • Positive attitudes toward participation
  • Confidence in participating2,3

Screenshot of DigiKnowIt News learning activity including video of child providing information about needle procedures.

When customizing your DigiKnowIt News website, you can choose to include from a library of highly interactive, engaging, developmentally-appropriate, web-based learning activities designed to help children and adolescents learn what to expect if the research protocol includes one or more needle procedures as a means of mitigating their fears about participating.

Screenshot of DigiKnowIt News digital comic book that teaches youth to talk to parents about needle fears.

Unlike many traditional methods of educating youth about needle procedures in clinical trials, DigiKnowIt News provides youth with comforting graphics showing the process of participating in a needle procedure, information about needle procedures that are developmentally understandable to them, and relatable testimonies from other youth who have participated in needle procedures.

Screenshot of DigiKnowIt News digital comic book demonstrating what it may be like to get a blood draw.

Mitigate needle-related enrollment barriers before your next recruitment cycle. Explore and purchase DigiKnowIt News at digiknowit.com.

 

 

  1. McLenon, J., & Rogers, M. A. M. (2019). The fear of needles: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(1), 30-42.
  2. Parker, A. E., Scull, T. M., & Morrison, A. M (2021). DigiKnowIt News: Educating youth about pediatric clinical trials using an interactive, multimedia educational website. Journal of Child Health Care, online: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13674935211003774
  3. Parker, A. E., Scull, T. M., Green, J., & Stump, K. N. (2025). Evaluation of an interactive, educational website developed for adolescents to learn about pediatric clinical trials: DigiKnowIt News. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 39, 335-345.