What do parents think about enrolling their premature babies in several research studies?
OBJECTIVE: To investigate parents’ opinions about enrolling their premature baby into several research studies in the few days after birth. METHODOLOGY: A questionnaire was given to parents of premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit who had been invited to join several studies (two to seven). RESULTS: All 50 mothers and 42 of 48 fathers completed the questionnaire independently; 28% had been asked to join two studies, 32% three, 24% four, 14% five, and 2% six studies. There were 61 babies with mean (SD) gestational age 26.9 (1.6) weeks and birth weight 877 (249) g. Nearly three quarters (71%) of the parents thought it was very good for their baby to be in a hospital that was carrying out a lot of research. Most (93%) thought that their baby would get the same or better care in a study. Only 15% thought their baby was too small for research studies. Almost all (98%) wanted to be involved in the decision about their baby joining a study. Only 22% were worried about the numbe
