December 9, 2025, Durham, NC – If you are planning to apply for grant or contract funding to support your pediatric research projects, it is important to develop a clear strategy to include in your proposals for how you will recruit participants. When reading your proposal, reviewers will look to see if it is realistic and feasible to recruit the number and types of people you want to participate in your study. In other words, your research proposal should not only include who you plan to recruit, but also how you plan to recruit and retain participants. Carefully strategizing and writing your recruitment and retention plan is particularly important for pediatric studies, because children and adolescents have unique needs when engaged in participant education in order to feel comfortable about choosing to participate, as we discussed in a previous blog.

One strategy to include in your proposal is to use an evidence-based, developmentally-appropriate recruitment website that is both interactive and customized to reflect your study protocol. DigiKnowIt News provides a low-cost, effective solution to fill this need.

Including use of DigiKnowIt News as part of your recruitment plan in your proposals will demonstrate to reviewers that you have a thoughtful plan for recruiting and retaining participants.

How DigiKnowIt News can strengthen your proposal.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have outlined various questions and points to consider when applying for a research grant (NIH, n.d.). Below, we describe how using DigiKnowIt News can help you address many of these points and increase your proposal’s competitiveness.

What mechanisms will you use to encourage recruitment?

The NIH recommend acknowledging multiple mechanisms for participant recruitment and retention in your grant application. While reaching potential participants and their families through flyers, advertisements, and digital marketing is an important first step in the recruitment process, reviewers also will look to see that you have a strategy that bridges the gap between attracting interest and obtaining assent. DigiKnowIt News offers that bridge by providing trustworthy, developmentally-appropriate education about study participation.

Have you designed your informational and study materials for your intended audience? Do you have realistic recruitment and retention strategies for all populations?

DigiKnowIt News was designed specifically to help researchers recruit and retain child and adolescent participants for research. It can be customized for children or adolescents based upon their developmental stage and learning preferences. The website features avatars and characters of diverse ages, genders, and races, helping all potential participants feel represented and included.

What are the barriers to participation? How will you prepare to address each of these barriers?

The NIH recommend thoroughly considering and addressing the specific barriers to participation for your unique target participant population when planning recruitment methods. Reviewers know that it is challenging to recruit children and adolescents for studies, particularly clinical trial studies that involve medical procedures, because young people may not fully understand what participation entails or may feel anxious about experiencing medical procedures. DigiKnowIt News helps overcome these barriers by providing education on various topic related to research participation and undergoing medical procedures to address the most significant barriers to youth participation in research including: lack of information, misinformation, mistrust, and fear about research.

Will study materials including consent forms and study instruments account for different literacy levels and cognitive abilities? Have you considered the language requirements and literacy of your proposed participants?

Including DigiKnowIt News in your proposal can help you stand out to reviewers, because, unlike materials commonly used to educate children and adolescents about research, the web application accounts for young people’s developmental abilities and preferred learning methods. With DigiKnowIt News, you can offer participants interactive activities and videos that use language that is easy for them to understand, so they can develop a better understanding of the purposes and methods included in your research project. In addition, DigiKnowIt News includes two separate versions of many interactive components that are designed specifically for children versus adolescents in order to increase engagement and accessibility across age groups.

What are the benefits to enrolling in your clinical research study from the perspective of your potential research participants?

Understanding the benefits of participating in research, in general, is a key motivating factor for children and adolescents making the decision about whether to participate. This is why DigiKnowIt News presents information using a variety of methods including interactive eLearning modules, video testimonials from former child and adolescent research participants, and digital comic books, in order to that allow young people to explore how participating in research might benefit them using the method that they find most appealing.

How will you retain participants?

DigiKnowIt News describes the potential risks of participating in research, how to communicate with research staff and ask questions, and what specific medical procedures may be like when participating. This information can help potential participants form realistic expectations for participating in research which may decrease the chances that they leave your study early when met with discomfort or challenges.

Are you aware that some communities are mistrustful of medical research? How do you plan to address these concerns?

A central goal of DigiKnowIt News is to reduce the fear and mistrust that potential participants have towards research, medical professionals, and/or researchers, which can be a barrier to participation. Its activities and video testimonials from real pediatric research participants are designed to empower children and adolescents to ask questions, teach them their rights as a participant, help them understand assent and consent, and remind them that they are able to remove themselves as a participant at any point in a study. In doing so, DigiKnowIt News can foster trust, autonomy, and confidence to help young people feel comfortable deciding whether to participate.

Next steps.

DigiKnowIt News was created by researchers and has been shown to increase youth knowledge, positive beliefs, and self-efficacy related to clinical trials participation. Our team can provide you with research findings and additional information about DigiKnowIt News that you can include in your proposal to demonstrate to reviewers that you have an evidence-based strategy for recruiting and retaining participants for your research.

If you would like use to provide you with some text or information about DigiKnowIt News to include in your proposal, email us at info@irtinc.us.

 

National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Points to consider about recruitment and retention while preparing a clinical research study. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/funding/grant-writing-and-application-process/points-to-consider-about-recruitment-and-retention-while-preparing-a-clinical-research-study