The DE Nemours/duPont Hospital for Children IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network Site - Principal Investigator/Program Director (Last, first, middle): Ross, Judith, M.D.
Project Summary/Abstract
The overall mission of the Delaware Nemours DuPont Hospital for Children IDeA States Pediatric Clinical
Trials Network site (DE-Nemours/AIDHC ISPCTN site) is to facilitate implementation of well-designed
pediatric clinical trials, recruit underserved/rural children to participate in these clinical trials, and enhance
pediatric clinical trial capacity within the IDeA state, DE. DE has notably high rates of infant prematurity and
mortality, asthma, obesity, and infants born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. The opportunity and the
potential impact of pediatric clinical advances are significant in DE, whose population (~1 million) serves as a
microcosm of the US, demographically, in urban-to-rural citizen ratio and ethnic/racial diversity. It has one
major children’s hospital (AIDHC with >90% of DE pediatric admissions), one major obstetric hospital
(Christiana Hospital with >80% of DE deliveries, ~7000/year), and a statewide integrated pediatric primary care
network (19 community practices). In this renewal application, we demonstrate our progress in creating and
sustaining collaborative clinical trials that address strategic health issues and overcome barriers to inclusion of
children residing in rural or impoverished areas of DE. The DE ISPCTN site will continue to harness key
resources including 1) 19 DE pediatrics and primary care practice-based networks that cover over 65,000
children (23% in rural areas, 19% in poverty and 52% Medicaid), 2) access to historically underrepresented
pediatric populations in DE, including rural, African-American and Hispanic/Latino populations, and 3) robust
community engagement programs such as the Nemours children's health website KidsHealth, the most-
visited pediatric health site (1 million hits/day). We have the human talent, with highly experienced clinical
research teams (PI, Co-Is, junior and senior investigators, coordinators, data entry staff) and the clinical
research infrastructure (Clinical research center, IRB processes, standard operating procedures). Nemours/
AIDHC has >15 years’ experience with system-wide use of electronic medical records (EPIC) in clinical trials
research. These factors allow for highly effective recruitment and retention in current ISPCTN clinical trials and
reach rural and underserved children in the state. The DE site will continue to synergize with robust DE IDeA
state resources. Further, we delineate how our strengths in community engagement/patient recruitment,
clinician and researcher engagement, and clinical research infrastructure capacity building have allowed us to
engage in clinical trials in the focus areas in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)
Program including Upper/lower airway disorders, Obesity, Pre-/peri-/postnatal outcomes, and Neurodevelop-
ment. The DE site will continue to work closely with the ISPCTN Data Coordinating and Operations Center in
development and implementation of clinical trials, will collaborate with the overall ECHO program and the NIH,
and will expand capacity to engage rural/underserved populations in DE. Provision of this expertise and infra-
structure will increase cutting edge clinical trial research aimed at improving public health in DE and the US.
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 05/01) Page _______ Continuation Format Page
