Reflections on paediatric research

Recently I attended a meeting at the College titled ‘Turning the tide – increasing research to benefit children….’ The meeting was chaired by Professor Neena Modi and brought together academics, College leadership, trainees, representatives of charities and individuals who work with the media and politicians. Many of the themes that emerged have been discussed before both in the UK and USA:

• ▶ The percentage of grants awarded to paediatricians by both government and charities is less than 10%;

• ▶ Few paediatricians are entering academic careers; and

• ▶ The lack of flexibility in training, and the limited number of role models, mentors and resources conspire to create an environment in which ‘launching’ a paediatric research career is very difficult.

What is the ‘right’ amount of research dollars that should be awarded to paediatricians? Many researchers who conduct child health research are not paediatricians, so perhaps the critical question is not whether paediatricians are doing well with respect to research support, although admittedly this is important for paediatrics to remain a rigorous academic discipline, but how many research dollars focus on child health. In most healthcare systems, children account for about 10% of …