Using a Cartoon Questionnaire to Improve Consent of Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In this study, we will evaluate the effectiveness of an audio and animated cartoon questionnaire (AACQ) at improving child understanding and enhancing a positive attitude to participate in biospecific nonspecimen specimen donation. A prospective, multicenter, randomized, and controlled trial will be performed at some hospitals in China. Three hundred children will be randomly asked to participate in our survey to investigate the participants' willingness and attitudes for donating biospecific nonspecimen specimen.The participants will be randomly allocated to the AACQ group and the text questionnaire (TQ) group. A separate knowledge test to assess the amount of knowledge acquired is included in the questionnaires. Additionally, participants' demographic data and basic information will be also collected. In our present study, we aim to test whether an audio and animated cartoon could help the child to understand the information about our research of biospecific nonspecimen specimen donation, reduce differences in their understanding, and use that information to make an appropriate decision for themselves. Meanwhile, we will exam factors that may influence a Chinese child's willingness to donate biospecific nonspecimen specimen before pediatric surgery.