Needs assessment for collaborative network in pediatric clinical research and education.
BACKGROUND
A collaborative network for pediatric research has not been fully established in Japan. To identify the network infrastructure, we conducted a survey on the support and education for clinical research currently available in children's hospitals.


METHODS
In November 2014, a 27-question survey was distributed to 31 hospitals belonging to the Japanese Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (JACHRI) to assess clinical research support, research education, research achievements, and their expectations.


RESULTS
All the hospitals responded to the survey. Overall, 74.2% of hospitals had clinical research support divisions. Although all hospitals had ethics committees, <30% of the hospitals had a data manager, intellectual property management unit, biostatistician, and English-language editor. Seven hospitals had education programs for clinical research. The number of seminars and workshops for clinical research had significant correlations with the number of physicians (r = 0.927), pediatricians (r = 0.922), and clinical trial management physicians (r = 0.962). There was a significant difference in the number of clinical trials initiated by physicians between hospitals with research education programs and those without (P < 0.01). The number of education programs was significantly correlated with the number of original articles and case reports in English (r = 0.788), and the number of publications in Japanese (r = 0.648). All hospitals recognized the need for a leader to establish a collaborative network for clinical research.


CONCLUSIONS
Important factors for creating a collaborative system for pediatric research in Japan were identified. Human resources to support clinical research are a key factor to improve clinical research education and research achievements.
Department of Postgraduate Education and Training, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
Akira
A
Ishiguro
Department of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
Hatoko
H
Sasaki
Division of Clinical Research, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
Naohisa
N
Yahagi
Division of Cardiology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
Hitoshi
H
Kato
Department of Pediatrics, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
Shigeo
S
Kure
Department of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
Rintaro
R
Mori
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D019058:Community Networks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010820:Physicians; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
clinical research; clinical research education; clinical trial; collaborative network; needs assessment