| Sumario: | • Little is known about caregiver willingness to participate in pediatric clinical research. • During COVID-19, a telephone survey was conducted to examine caregiver's perceptions of three research modalities: telehealth, in-person, and vaccine-focused. • Caregiver willingness to participate in pediatric clinical research varied based on research modality (vaccine vs. nonvaccine), attitudes towards research, and sociodemographic factors. • Targeted strategies may improve recruitment in pediatric clinical research, especially for groups traditionally underrepresented. • Continued surveillance regarding pediatric vaccine and clinical research hesitancy more broadly is warranted. Understanding caregiver willingness to participate in pediatric clinical research is needed. We examined caregiver perceptions of pediatric clinical research during COVID-19 and examined research attitudes and sociodemographic factors as predictors of willingness. A cross-sectional telephone survey was administered to caregivers of children from August 2020 to April 2021. We examined caregiver willingness to participate in the following research modalities during COVID-19: telehealth, in-person, and vaccine-focused. Participants included 600 caregivers (52.8% non-Hispanic White; Child Age M = 9.3 years; 50.0% from rural areas). Caregivers reported more willingness to participate in nonvaccine research (64.0% telehealth, 59.4% face-to-face) compared to vaccine research (22.1%). Different predictors were found for caregivers living in rural and nonrural areas and specific research attitudes predicted willingness. Caregiver willingness to participate in pediatric clinical research during COVID-19 differed by modality and research attitudes predicting willingness differed by geography. Surveillance regarding pediatric vaccine and clinical research hesitancy broadly should continue.
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