Why and how Starlight does Research

Starlight conducts research in order to: 1. Evaluate program efficacy; in other words does the program do what we designed it to do? 2. Provide feedback to Starlights program development process. 3. Establish credibility with donors, health care professionals and other stakeholders. 4. Facilitate the medical community recommending or using Starlights programs with their patients. Many health care people want to see evidence that the a program works and will do no harm prior to introducing it to their patients. 5. Contribute to the body of knowledge about what has been found to help children and their families cope with chronic and life threatening medical conditions. 6. Differentiates Starlight from other charities. Few nonprofits conduct clinical research studies on their programs. Types of Research that Starlight Does 1. Clinical research studies that evaluate the psychosocial benefits of a program against the programs goals and objectives. 2. Consumer feedback: asking consumers if they use a program, liked it, what they liked, didnt like, would like more of, etc. Research Process Program evaluation generally takes the form of outcomes based research studies and is conducted in partnership with academic or medical institutions throughout North America. In the past we have issued Requests for Proposals through the Society for Pediatric Psychology or American Psychological Association and facilitated peer reviews before selecting a research facility and principal investigator. However, we also have established relationships with the pediatric health care community and many times will seek out a researcher who has an expertise in a particular research area. Generally we either apply for funding collaboratively or the researcher raises their own funds. The study must pass an internal review board at the researchers institution and be eligible for presentations at health care meetings and publication in a respected journal. Consumer feedback is collected by the program team via surveys and focus groups and used to improve programs when needed. We develop surveys that ask program participants to answer questions about what they use, dont use, how they found out about the program, what they liked, would like to see more of, and how we could improve their experience.