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.
Developing and evaluating a mental health self-assessment tool for post-secondary students
More than 50% of post-secondary students experience a mental health concern. Our researchers are inviting post-secondary students to participate in focus groups to help them develop a mental health tool that will help students assess their mental health needs and link them to resources.
Researchers at UBC and BC Children's Hospital are inviting pregnant women to participate in a nutrition study to determine if natural folate is as effective as synthetic folic acid in increasing serum and red blood cell folate concentrations during pregnancy.
An estimated one in five women experience anxiety during pregnancy. Researchers at UBC and BC Children's Hospital are seeking pregnant women to participate in a study to develop a scale, the Pregnancy Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS), that aims to detect anxiety and its severity among pregnant women.
Evaluating Virtual Reality as a Procedural Preparation for MRI
Virtual reality has been shown to benefit individuals preparing for clinical procedures such as sedation, medical imaging, and surgeries. Researchers at BC Children's Hospital are seeking children between the ages of four to 13 to participate in a study to explore if virtual reality can be used to prepare children for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Child-Sized KT - Co-create patient-oriented research
Calling all BC Children’s Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre families! Have you been part of a research study in the last five years? Do you want to help lead an exciting project aimed at improving patient-oriented research?
“Patient-oriented research” means that parents, patients, researchers and healthcare practitioners work together to choose research topics, plan studies, share knowledge, and make changes in order to improve healthcare for children and youth. This study looks at the best way to bring together patients and families with researchers and health care providers to talk about how research is done through a secure online platform. In order to create an inclusive platform, researchers are seeking input from a variety of future users.
Researchers are looking for a parent, or a former patient aged 19 and up, to join their research team and co-lead this study. As an equal partner of the research team, you will have the opportunity to influence the design and content of the platform, and each stage of this study. You will also be asked to participate in bi-monthly meetings held at BC Children’s and respond to email communications from time to time. You will be reimbursed for the costs associated with your participation in meetings.
How to participate?
For more information please email the research coordinator at childsizedkt@bcchr.ca or call 604-875-2000 ext. 3113.
P2RISM Study - Help improve care for moms and babies in BC
Are you pregnant and planning to deliver at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre? Our researchers are studying healthy pregnant women and babies to help health care providers better interpret lab test results. This study will help providers identify and manage health problems that could impact moms and babies.
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.
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.
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.
Congratulations to the BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit at BC Children’s Hospital, whose video on physical literacy received an award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research 2019 IHDCYH Talks Video Competition.
A new study suggests that specialized immune cells that dampen inflammation and help repair the gut could be used as a potential therapy for children dealing with the painful symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.
Scientists have developed a molecular “clock” that could reshape how pediatricians measure and monitor childhood growth and potentially allow for an earlier diagnosis of life-altering development disorders. The research, published this week in PNAS, describes how the addition of chemical tags to DNA over time can potentially be used to screen for developmental differences and health problems in children.
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.
More than 50% of post-secondary students experience a mental health concern. Our researchers are inviting post-secondary students to participate in focus groups to help them develop a mental health tool that will help students assess their mental health needs and link them to resources. 
Researchers at UBC and BC Children's Hospital are inviting pregnant women to participate in a nutrition study to determine if natural folate is as effective as synthetic folic acid in increasing serum and red blood cell folate concentrations during pregnancy.
An estimated one in five women experience anxiety during pregnancy. Researchers at UBC and BC Children's Hospital are seeking pregnant women to participate in a study to develop a scale, the Pregnancy Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS), that aims to detect anxiety and its severity among pregnant women.
Virtual reality has been shown to benefit individuals preparing for clinical procedures such as sedation, medical imaging, and surgeries. Researchers at BC Children's Hospital are seeking children between the ages of four to 13 to participate in a study to explore if virtual reality can be used to prepare children for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Calling all BC Children’s Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre families! Have you been part of a research study in the last five years? Do you want to help lead an exciting project aimed at improving patient-oriented research? 
Are you pregnant and planning to deliver at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre? Our researchers are studying healthy pregnant women and babies to help health care providers better interpret lab test results. This study will help providers identify and manage health problems that could impact moms and babies.
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.
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. 
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.
