April 11, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce the release of a new version of DigiKnowIt News.

Pediatric researchers across the nation are struggling to recruit an adequate number of children and adolescents into pediatric clinical trials and other types of research projects. Until recently, DigiKnowIt News included information designed to educate children about clinical trials but did not have activities and content that were appealing to teens.

DigiKnowIt News is one of the first interactive, educational web-based software applications designed with the specific goal of helping researchers recruit more children and adolescents to participate in pediatric clinical trials and research studies. DigiKnowIt News can be used to educate young people about what clinical trials are, how they can benefit from participation, and what their rights are as participants, so they may feel more comfortable participating in research.

Adaptable Content for Participants of Different Age Groups

DigiKnowIt News is a unique resource for informing potential participants about pediatric studies because it is strategically designed to be engaging and developmentally appropriate for youth. Unlike most forms of educating youth about their rights and the measures and procedures being used in a specific study, DigiKnowIt News was developed with input from both youth and researchers to ensure that the website’s content not only includes all of the information that young people need to confidently make a decision to participate in research, but also engages youth, so they can easily understand and retain information. DigiKnowIt News contains interactive learning activities, digital comic books, and video testimonials from youth designed to be engaging and entertaining for young people.

The new version of DigiKnowIt News offers several web-based activities in two different versions, including one version designed to be developmentally appropriate for children and one to be developmentally appropriate for teens. Researchers can choose which activity they want to include in their recruitment website from a library of options to create a custom website that suits the developmental needs and interests of their potential participants, whether they are looking to recruit children, adolescents, or both.

New Informative Content on Various Medical Procedures

Each research study has unique goals for potential participant education and recruitment, so it can be challenging to find educational resources that are not only engaging for potential participants but also reflect the study’s specific goals, methods, and procedures. For example, many clinical trials involve medical or diagnostic procedures, such as invasive procedures like venipuncture or noninvasive procedures like MRI or ultrasound scans. Youth may be afraid to participate in a clinical trial if the trial involves procedures that may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar to them. Researchers must educate youth on the specific procedures involved in their study, so youth may better understand what to expect from participation and feel more comfortable participating.

DigiKnowIt News provides options for researchers to educate their potential participants on the specific medical procedures or methods that are involved in their study or trial. For example, researchers can choose to include activities that inform youth about venipuncture and/or MRI and ultrasound scans. The updated version of DigiKnowIt News contains new activities for educating youth on various types of organ testing, behavioral treatments, and sedation and anesthesia.

To view demos of some of DigiKnowIt News’ engaging activities designed to educate children and adolescents about clinical trials, visit https://digiknowit.com/free-version/.

To view a library of optional content to include in your custom DigiKnowIt News website, visit https://digiknowit.com/library/.