Making a difference to children’s health research

By Liverpool YPAG,

Blog written by Daisy Barrick

The GenerationR Liverpool YPAG really enjoys hearing from many different researchers. Not only is it fascinating to learn about many different trials and treatments, but having the honour to be able to provide input on the delivery of trials allows us to use our experience to ensure comfort for the children who take part in trials.

During one of our meetings recently we had the privilege of hearing from Colin, a physiotherapist who informed us about a trial that will determine which type of physiotherapy treatment is preferred by patients and whether it improves their injury. It looks specifically at knee dislocation and the researcher was able to explain the reasoning and importance of the trial. The young people provided input on the questionnaires and their suitability for the trial. After looking at a few examples, we decided that the statements needed to be clearer with a way of answering more objectively. We also suggested that videos of physiotherapy exercises could be uploaded to a website when the researcher asked our opinion of how best to explain the treatments to patients when they are at home. We also worked with the researcher to discuss how this could be incorporated into a QR code in a leaflet.

We then moved on to working with two psychologists, who were working on similar but slightly different projects, who had requested our assistance on their projects. At the end of the discussion one of the researchers asked the group if we would be happy to trial their App for anxiety and epilepsy. This is really rewarding for the group as we are able to see how our suggestions have been brought to life!

One of my favourite aspects of being a member of GenerationR is being able to directly see our impact. For example, a name I suggested for a swallow ability study was actually implemented in their final study title. This really helps the team to feel valued as we hope that our suggestions can help other young people medically, but also in a way that ensures they find the trials suitable and feel comfortable when taking part.