When you and your family take part in a research study, you are helping us:
Improve treatments and find cures
Transform care with breakthrough technologies
Gain new insight into child health and development
Build healthier communities through improved prevention, policy and practice
Current Research Studies
The following studies are led by BC Children's Hospital investigators and are currently recruiting study participants. Click on the study title below for more information.
Optimizing the Management of Pain and Irritability in Children with Severe Neurological Impairment
Photo credit: Mavreen DavidIs your child experiencing pain and you don't know why? Our researchers are looking for children between the ages of six months and 18 years with neurological problems who cannot communicate verbally about their pain. The study aims to improve the management of ongoing, unexplained pain and irritability in children with severe, neurological impairments.
The Early Childhood Outside (ECO) research study aims to develop an online tool for early childhood educators and others to help support outdoor play for children in child care settings. Participants are invited to share their ideas and suggestions to help build this online tool.
Development and validation of the Understanding Your Physical Symptoms and Emotions Questionnaire
Do you have physical symptoms that get in the way of your life? Researchers at BC Children's Hospital are looking for families of youth (11-18 years old) with any type of physical symptoms to help them develop a questionnaire to understand the relationship between stress and physical symptoms.
BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre BioBank Survey
Researchers at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre and at BC Children's Hospital BioBank are seeking pregnant women and new mothers to complete a short survey about research and biobanking. Volunteers will receive a $5 coffee card for completing the survey!
Help researchers understand what information matters to pregnant women making treatment decisions
Pregnant volunteers are needed for the UBC study "Navigating The Grey Zone." Researchers will conduct a 15 minute interview with volunteers to find out how to help pregnant women decide if they should take steroids to help their babies' lungs when faced with the possibility of an early delivery.
SMART ERP Study - Pilot trial of intensive treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
The Provincial OCD Program at BC Children’s Hospital is actively recruiting greater Vancouver youth (7-19 years old) who have obsessive compulsive disorder (moderate or higher severity) to participate a pilot trial of intensive treatment (i.e. exposure and response prevention).
Pneumococcal disease is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP). Although the vaccine is given as 3 shots at 2, 4, and 12 months of age, researchers would like to find out if it is possible to achieve the same protection using just 2 shots at 2 and 12 months.
Meningococcal disease is caused by Neisseria meningitidis and can result in severe disease such as septicemia (blood poisoning) and meningitis. There are currently 3 different vaccines being offered to teenagers across Canada and researchers at the Vaccine Evaluation Center would like to find out if there are any differences between these 3 vaccines, and if any of them are better than the others.
Do you have a toddler under 18 months old? This study will compare the effect of drinking regimens on toddler growth and development from 18 - 24 months of age.
The Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety (CPNDS) is conducting a national study to determine the genetic link that explains why some children suffer adverse drug reactions, while others do not.
School functioning survey - Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
If you are a parent of an OCD-affected child and youth, or a young adult diagnosed with OCD before the age of 18, take part in this study on how OCD affects/affected school life of students with OCD.
Child-Sized KT - Co-create patient-oriented research
Would you like to co-create patient-oriented research?
Share your research involvement story with the research community, and receive a $50 gift card!
“Patient-oriented research” means that parents, patients, researchers and doctors work together to choose research topics, plan studies, share knowledge, and make changes in order to improve healthcare for children and youth.
Who is doing this study?
A group of researchers at BC Children’s Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, lead by Dr. Shazhan Amed, are inviting families to co-create an interactive website to make it easier for families to engage in research.
Who can participate?
If your family participated in a health related study (especially as a research team member/partner) and you are willing to share your story to help other families understand research, you are a perfect fit!
How to participate?
Please contact the research coordinator at childsizedkt@bcchr.ca or 604-875-2000 ext. 3113 for more information. Thank you, and we are looking forward to hearing from you soon!
BioBank
Are you or your child being cared for at either BC Children’s Hospital or BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre? You can further medical research in a wide-range of areas by donating samples, such as blood, to the BC Children’s Hospital BioBank. A single biospecimen could fuel many research projects, any one of which might lead to an important medical breakthrough.
All samples are collected through routine medical procedures. You will not be asked to make appointments for additional procedures to donate to the BioBank. Patient confidentiality is protected by the BioBank, and personal information will never be released to anyone outside of the BioBank.
For more information visit the BioBank website here or contact Adam at 604-875-2000 ext. 6423 or biobank@cw.bc.ca.
Get Involved
We need you today for a better tomorrow. Our kids are counting on it.
Dr. Rollin Brant is retiring this month after an exceptional career in which he used his expertise in statistical methodology and statistical computing to contribute to a diverse array of leading-edge health research projects.
Held in Kamloops on May 6 and Williams Lake on May 7, 2019, Mini Med School BC inspired and engaged 161 high school students from BC’s interior and Cariboo region.
Dr. Bahaa Abu Raya has been awarded a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) for his research into whooping cough immunization in pregnancy that helped change Canada’s national immunization guidelines on when expectant mothers should get a booster shot.
Kids with the highest blood-sugar levels experienced the most improvement after starting insulin pump treatment, according to new research. The study suggests insulin pump therapy should be considered for children with higher blood sugar levels to help avert some of the lifelong complications of diabetes.
Allergy Check, a new assessment tool that guides users through the likelihood of having a food allergy with just a few clicks, has launched as an app on allergycheck.ca.
We believe there’s nothing we can’t do with your support. It can take years to turn scientific breakthrough into new interventions and treatments. Funding helps speed the pace of change. When given the resources, we can bring transformative therapies – and hope – out of the laboratory and into the clinic to save and improve children’s lives.
The Early Childhood Outside (ECO) research study aims to develop an online tool for early childhood educators and others to help support outdoor play for children in child care settings. Participants are invited to share their ideas and suggestions to help build this online tool.
Do you have physical symptoms that get in the way of your life? Researchers at BC Children's Hospital are looking for families of youth (11-18 years old) with any type of physical symptoms to help them develop a questionnaire to understand the relationship between stress and physical symptoms.
Researchers at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre and at BC Children's Hospital BioBank are seeking pregnant women and new mothers to complete a short survey about research and biobanking. Volunteers will receive a $5 coffee card for completing the survey!
Pregnant volunteers are needed for the UBC study "Navigating The Grey Zone." Researchers will conduct a 15 minute interview with volunteers to find out how to help pregnant women decide if they should take steroids to help their babies' lungs when faced with the possibility of an early delivery.
The Provincial OCD Program at BC Children’s Hospital is actively recruiting greater Vancouver youth (7-19 years old) who have obsessive compulsive disorder (moderate or higher severity) to participate a pilot trial of intensive treatment (i.e. exposure and response prevention).
Pneumococcal disease is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP). Although the vaccine is given as 3 shots at 2, 4, and 12 months of age, researchers would like to find out if it is possible to achieve the same protection using just 2 shots at 2 and 12 months.
Meningococcal disease is caused by Neisseria meningitidis and can result in severe disease such as septicemia (blood poisoning) and meningitis. There are currently 3 different vaccines being offered to teenagers across Canada and researchers at the Vaccine Evaluation Center would like to find out if there are any differences between these 3 vaccines, and if any of them are better than the others.
Do you have a toddler under 18 months old? This study will compare the effect of drinking regimens on toddler growth and development from 18 - 24 months of age. 
The Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety (CPNDS) is conducting a national study to determine the genetic link that explains why some children suffer adverse drug reactions, while others do not.
If you are a parent of an OCD-affected child and youth, or a young adult diagnosed with OCD before the age of 18, take part in this study on how OCD affects/affected school life of students with OCD. 
Would you like to co-create patient-oriented research?
Are you or your child being cared for at either BC Children’s Hospital or BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre? You can further medical research in a wide-range of areas by donating samples, such as blood, to the BC Children’s Hospital BioBank. A single biospecimen could fuel many research projects, any one of which might lead to an important medical breakthrough.
