What are Clinical Trials?

A clinical trial is a type of health research. These studies research treatments, procedures, devices, and care methods to find out if they work and are safe. The treatment, drug, or practice being studied can be new, or may have been used to treat other conditions but are being studied on a new one. Clinical trials ask questions such as,

• what side effects does this treatment have?
• Does it work on the illness it’s designed to treat?
• How does it compare to other methods?
• Can it be given along with other treatments?

People volunteer to take part in clinical trials as participants who the new treatments will be tested on. Anyone can volunteer to be a participant in a clinical trial. It’s important to have a diverse mix of people involved in a clinical trial to understand how the treatment works in all populations. Not all patients can be part of a study, and you need to meet entry requirements.

Clinical trials are carefully planned, reviewed, and carried out and need to be approved before they can start. This makes sure that the questions are relevant to patients, the results are measured properly, and the data is handled appropriately. There are always safety measures in place to monitor the wellbeing of participants at every stage of the trial. Patients can leave a study at any time if they think it’s not right for them.