Sociodemographic and motivational characteristics of parents who volunteer their children for clinical research: a controlled study.

OBJECTIVE To determine the sociodemographic and motivational characteristics of parents who volunteer their children for clinical research. DESIGN A questionnaire was administered to parents who volunteered their children for a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of a drug to treat asthma and to a control group of parents whose children were eligible for the trial but had refused the invitation. SETTING A children's hospital in Australia. SUBJECTS 68 Parents who had volunteered their children and 42 who had not; a response rate of 94% and 70%, respectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Responses of parents to questionnaire designed to assess their perceptions, attitudes, and health seeking behaviour as well as sociodemographic data. RESULTS Volunteering parents were less well educated with only 15% (10/68) of mothers and 16% (11/68) and of fathers having had a tertiary or university education compared with 26% (11/42) of mothers and 45% (19/42) in the non-volunteering group. Fewer volunteering parents had professional or administrative jobs than did non-volunteering parents (mothers 6% (4/68); fathers 9% (6/68) v mothers 14% (6/42); fathers 31% (13/42)). Volunteering parents had less social support, and they displayed greater health seeking behaviour and consumed more habit forming substances. They were motivated by a desire to help others and to contribute to medical research, but they were also searching for more information and better ways to help their own children. CONCLUSION Parents who volunteer their children for medical research are significantly more socially disadvantaged and emotionally vulnerable.