We’re here for patients and communities.
When certain patient groups aren’t represented in clinical research, their health outcomes can be impacted. We’re here to stop that from happening.
CLINICAL RESEARCH, EXPLAINED.
You might have heard of clinical research and trials. But for many of us, what we know about clinical research is based on what we see in the media, on TV shows, or in films.
Clinical research is really important because it can help doctors understand how to treat conditions. And improving their knowledge could benefit you, or others like you, in the future.
Tap on the hotspots below to learn more about clinical research.
New treatments need to be tested to determine if they’re safe, what side effects they have, and if they work. And that’s exactly what clinical research is designed to do.
If treatments are found to improve conditions, it could be life changing for people. If not, researchers have still gained new knowledge on the condition, which can improve future research.
Treatments are usually tested against either a dummy treatment (known as a placebo) or standard treatment that’s already in use. This is to check if the new treatment’s working.
It’s important to understand that informed consent is not a contract, and you can withdraw from a trial at any time.
In any clinical research trial, the team will likely include doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. They’ll check your health, give instructions for participating in the trial, monitor you carefully throughout, and update you after the trial’s completed.
One group of patients is often given an experimental drug or treatment, while the control group will either get a standard treatment for the condition, or a placebo. These two groups are compared at the end of the trial.
WHO CAN TAKE PART IN CLINICAL RESEARCH?
Before you can take part in clinical research, you need to meet a set of criteria to make sure the study is right for you. All clinical research has guidelines about who can participate. It helps researchers identify the right people, keep them safe, produce reliable results, and ensure that they’ll be able to answer any questions.
Type and severity
of disease
Previous
treatment history
Other medical
conditions
Age
Sex
Benefits and risks.
Taking part in clinical research can help you:
- Play an active role in your own health care.
- Gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available.
- Help others by contributing to medical research.
- Have the opportunity to speak to people who have the same condition as you who are going through the same thing.
- Access additional medical care and more frequent health check-ups as part of your treatment.
- Get expert medical care at leading health care facilities.
Everyone who takes part in clinical research is monitored very carefully and taken care of should any side effects occur. But, potential risks will always be explained to you, and could include:
- Unpleasant or serious side effects of treatment.
- Treatment that does not work for you.
- Additional trips to the study site, treatments, hospital stays or complex dosage requirements.
- You might not be part of the treatment group that gets the new treatment. Instead, you could be part of the control group, which means you get the standard treatment or a no-treatment placebo.
HOW YOUR SAFETY IS TAKEN CARE OF.
Clinical research studies are highly regulated to ensure your safety in a number of ways:
- Researchers are required to follow strict government-enforced rules to make sure that you’re safe.
- All clinical research follows a protocol that describes what the researchers will do. The head researcher is responsible for making sure that it’s followed.
- Review boards made up of doctors, scientists, and lay patients must approve to making sure that risks are as low as possible.
THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE TAKING PART.
We want you to have all the information you need to make the right decision for you. Download our factsheet to see some examples of questions you can ask before you decide to take part in clinical research.
HERE TO HELP.
Our team has more than 50 years experience with clinical research. We want to help make more people feel comfortable and confident in their understanding of clinical research and how they can take part. If you have any general questions, please get in touch.
But, it’s important to remember: we’re not medical doctors and can’t give you medical advice. You should also discuss any questions about your healthcare and accessing clinical research with your healthcare provider.
Diversity AND inclusion in Healthcare.
What do we mean by diversity and why is it important?
HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Ready to join our mission? If you want to understand more about what we do, how we do it, and what impact it will have on you and others, just ask!
STAY IN THE KNOW.
Sign up to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with the progress we’re making and the projects we’re working on. We’ll also send you news and insights on all things diversity, inclusion and equity in healthcare and clinical research.