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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]