Terms You Should Know: Main

Blinding Or Masking

"That's when patients, and usually doctors too, don't know which study treatment each child is getting."

This study term can sound scary. But it is really pretty simple. In some studies, it is important that certain people do not know (or are blinded to) which study group your child is in. You may be blinded, or your doctor...or the research team itself.

Why? Researchers want to make sure that anything you are filling out, like surveys or diaries - and anything the doctors or research team may be doing, like physical exams or tests - are not affected by knowing which group anyone is in. Let's imagine that your child is in a study of a new medicine. If your doctor knew that your child was taking the new drug, maybe the doctor would go in to the study thinking this is a great drug, and then may, unknowingly, evaluate results based on that opinion. Or, you may think that because your child is suddenly tired, it has to do with the drug. Researchers want to make sure that the data that is collected is true and not affected by how any one person feels about the treatment.

One important thing to know is that, in every study, there is someone who knows what drug or treatment each participant is taking. In an emergency, the research team and doctors can find out quickly.