Clinical Trials – Playing Your Part in Crucial Research

The healthcare industry requires constant research and often needs help with participation, also known as recruitment, in clinical trials. There are many benefits to participating in clinical trials, including helping to prevent disease. Participants may also get paid for some clinical trials. Voluntary participants are needed to help continue research into drugs and medicine.
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What are clinical trials?

What Are Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials are highly regulated and safe ways of testing new treatments and obtaining licenses for new medicines. They aim to:

  • Help to prevent future diseases, like vaccines
  • Help to better diagnose diseases by testing medical devices and biomarkers in our body, which are indicators of the presence of some diseases
  • Improve how patients feel and help them to live better and longer
  • Find new ways to improve people’s lives, for example, assessing if yoga can improve sleeping patterns

 

New treatments and devices go through at least two of the following clinical trials phases of testing:

01
Phase 1
Is the first clinical trial carried out and involves finding the right dose and testing to see if the drug is safe.
02
Phase 2
Is to find out if the treatment or device is working, also known as evaluating the efficacy.
03
Phase 3
Involves a larger number of participants and is used to find out if the new treatment works better than the treatments currently used in hospitals and pharmacies.
04
Phase 4
Happens after the medicine has been approved in the market and proves how effective it is in broader use. Information is gathered on the treatment's effect on people from different regions, ethnicities, etc., and, any side effects associated with long-term use.

What are the benefits of clinical trials?

What Are The Benefits Of Clinical Trials

Trials assess treatments to manage, improve and prevent diseases. Hence, it is an important process in helping people’s health, often including life-changing treatments for the future. They might help members of your family and your friends in the future and are essential to the developing new treatments and vaccinations. Participants who may need treatment but have exhausted other areas of medicine or want to try innovative treatments can benefit from participating in clinical trials.

Some clinical trials offer payment, ranging from hundreds to thousands of pounds, euros, or dollars. Some other clinical trials do not offer payment but may cover some travel expenses.

Each clinical trial will state clearly if the participant would receive remuneration or any type of compensation.

The candidate journey in a clinical trial

Many people take part in clinical trials every day, and you may even know of someone who is participating in a trialone of them right now. The recruitment for clinical trials begins with a screening appointment. Staff take the patient candidates through their medical history and do some sample tests to find out if theythe candidate meets all the requirements of the clinical trial requirements. Once they the candidates havehave been assessed and approved, they are then invited to to take partparticipate in the clinicala trial. Everything likely to occur during and after the trial is explained. Personal data is protected, and the analysis using this data is anonymised.

Are clinical trials safe?

Are Clinical Trials Safe

All clinical trials are designed by healthcare professionals and drug development experts to guarantee the best safety procedures for participants. Before a clinical trial can start, it is also reviewed and approved by governmental health bodies consisting of experienced medical professionals before. During a clinical trial, participants are monitored regularly to ensure any side effects can be managed immediately.

What will I need to do when I participate in clinical trial?

What Will I Need To Do When I Participate In Clinical Trial

You may have to see or talk on the phone with a healthcare professional or go to the hospital every now and then. The clinical trial team will thoroughly monitor how you are doing and will adjust your treatment if and when needed.

What should I do if I want to take part in a clinical trial?

What Should I Do If I Want To Take Part In A Clinical Trial
All you need to do is to volunteer for one of the clinical trials, and you can get started straight away with the candidate journey. Enrolment in a clinical trial can be complicated if you are just undertakeing this on your own. Although possible, this can often involve hours of searching for the right clinical trial for you. There are tools available that can make it much more straightforward to track down trials that are recruiting participants and that can easily match and connect you with the most suitable clinical trial. This will ensure that you don’t miss out. If you want to participate in a clinical trial and contribute to advancing of new treatments, sign up knowing that you might help yourself and others in the future. Participation in clinical trials is necessary for developing life-changing treatments. You will be promoting scientific advance. Volunteering might change someone’s life in future.

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