• Madison Claire Badawy Paton, Megan Finch-Edmondson, Claire Galea, Natasha Garrity, Michael Collingwood Fahey, and Iona Novak.
• Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia madison.paton@cerebralpalsy.org.au.
• J. Investig. Med. 2022 Jan 1; 70 (1): 85-91.

AbstractTo progress stem cell therapies for cerebral palsy, clinicians need to openly engage with patients about emerging evidence and be willing to refer to relevant clinical trials, if and when appropriate. To assess whether education can change clinicians' confidence in information sharing and willingness to refer to relevant clinical trials, an online questionnaire was distributed at a scientific conference before and after a professional workshop on cell therapies for cerebral palsy. Of the 42 participants who completed the survey, 26 self-identified as clinicians. Of these, 81% had had patients ask about stem cells, yet in the pre-workshop questionnaire indicated they were not confident answering questions about cell therapies. Clinicians were most commonly asked about stem cell treatments provided by private clinics, stem cell research and current evidence. Post-workshop, knowledge and confidence regarding stem cells, as well as likelihood to refer to clinical trials using therapies with a strong evidence base (eg, umbilical cord blood/placental cells), significantly increased (p<0.001). This study highlights that by offering resources and education, clinician confidence and willingness to refer to cell therapy trials can improve; this may help drive the stem cell research landscape and support patient decision-making.© American Federation for Medical Research 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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