Success of University Student Volunteers in Obtaining Consent for Reviewing Private Health Information for Emergency Research.

This study aimed to determine the success of university student volunteers in obtaining consent from parents to allow review of their child's personal health information (PHI) for emergency research screening. This study also aimed to examine the variables associated with successful consent. This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at a pediatric emergency department (ED). University students, who functioned as delegates of the health information custodian, approached parents for consent. Of 2,506 parents, 1,852 (73.9%) provided consent to allow review of their child's PHI for research screening. Variables associated with successful consent were high (≥12 months) versus low (<12 months) volunteer experience (OR = 2.0), research related (vs. unrelated) to the child's chief complaint (OR = 2.0), child treated regularly by specialists at the study institution (OR = 1.7), and ED presentation mid-week vs. weekend (OR = 1.7) and morning vs. evening presentation (OR = 1.4). When approached by a university student volunteer, about 25% of parents declined to have their child's PHI reviewed for research screening. This model of obtaining consent may put some emergency research at risk for selection bias. Variables that increase the odds of successful consent can be considered in program design to improve the effectiveness of this model.

Implementation of a volunteer university student research assistant program in an emergency department: the nuts and bolts for success.

Prospective research studies often advance clinical practice in the emergency department (ED), but they can be costly and difficult to perform. In this report, we describe the implementation of a volunteer university student research assistant program that provides students exposure to medicine and clinical research while simultaneously increasing the capacity of an ED's research program. This type of program provides 15 hours per day of research assistant coverage for patient screening and enrolment for minimal risk research studies, and screening for higher risk studies. The latter is true without the added burden or costs of co-administering university course credit or pay for service, which are common features of most of these types of programs currently in operation. We have shown that our volunteer-based program is effective for an ED's research success as well as for its student participants. For other EDs interested in adopting similar programs, we provide the details on how to get such a program started and highlight the structure and non-monetary incentives that facilitate a program's ongoing success.

The effectiveness of a student volunteer program for research in a pediatric Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: Emergency Department (ED) student-based research assistant programs have been shown to be effective in enrolling patients when the students receive university course credit or pay. However, the impact on research outcomes when university students act as volunteers in this role is relatively unknown. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to determine how often potentially eligible children were accurately identified by volunteer research assistants for enrollment into prospective research in the ED. We also examined the frequency of successful enrollments and the accuracy of data capture. METHODS: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of university student volunteer research assistant performance in a tertiary care pediatric ED between March 2011 and July 2013. The participant's primary role was to screen and facilitate enrollment of ED patients into clinical research. For each volunteer, we recorded demographics, number of screenings, enrollments, and data capture accuracy. RESULTS: Over five 6-month sessions, 151 student volunteers participated. Of these, 77.3% were female, 58.8% were undergraduate students, and 61.1% were interested in medical school. Student volunteers accurately screened 11,362/13,067 (87.0%) children, and they accurately identified 4407/4984 (88.4%) potentially eligible children for study enrollment. Of the 3805 eligible for enrollment exclusively by the students, 3228 (84.8%) families/children consented and completed all study procedures. Furthermore, students correctly entered 11,660/12,567 (92.8%) data points. CONCLUSIONS: Utilizing university student volunteers to facilitate research enrollment in the ED is effective and allows for the capture of a high percentage of potentially eligible patients into prospective clinical research studies.

The professional benefits for volunteer research assistants in a pediatric emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Emergency departments (EDs) have utilized university student volunteers to facilitate enrollment of patients into prospective studies; however, the impact of this experience on participant careers is relatively unknown. OBJECTIVES: We determined the proportion of successful postgraduate school/research job applications supported by our program reference letter. We also examined participant satisfaction. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of volunteer research assistants in a tertiary care pediatric ED from September 2011 to July 2013. Students volunteered one 5-h shift per week for at least 6 months. They completed three surveys: 1) Entrance - demographics and goals for entering the ED research assistant program; 2) Exit - program satisfaction, reasons for leaving the program, and future career goals; 3) Follow-up - survey and e-mails were sent to record positions secured since leaving the program. RESULTS: There were a total of 920 applicants over the study period, and 127 volunteers were selected to participate in the program. Response rates for entrance, exit, and follow-up surveys were 100%, 84.9%, and 96.2%, respectively. Of the participants who left and responded, 89/101 (88.9%) obtained school/research positions supported by our program reference letter. Further, 72.6% ranked their satisfaction with the program at least a 7 on a 10-point categorical scale, and 82.9% reported that they "agreed/strongly agreed" that the program helped with their career goals. CONCLUSIONS: A volunteer student program is in high demand for university students interested in health sciences/research and potentially has a beneficial career impact for its participants.