Disseminating Results
NIH supports and encourages scientists who do research, including clinical
studies, to make the results of their research available to the public
and to medical and health professionals as quickly as possible in order
to improve the health of the nation.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials, also known as clinical studies, are scientific studies
in which people help doctors find ways to improve health and health care.
Many of today's treatments for illness are based on the results of past
clinical trials. The National Institutes of Health has developed a consumer-friendly
database, www.ClinicalTrials.gov,
to provide patients, family members, and members of the public current
information about clinical research studies.
Who Can Participate?
Clinical trials enroll people who are alike in certain ways, depending
on the study's purpose. The study's protocol tells who can join the study
and spells out the characteristics that people should have. These are
called eligibility criteria. They may include age, gender, general health,
and risk factors.
Eligibility criteria are a key part of medical research. They help produce
results we can trust. And after those results are known, the information
can help doctors find out who will be helped by the approach being studied
if it's shown to work. For example, a new drug might not work for people
with one type of risk factor, or it may work better for men than for women.
Eligibility criteria also help protect you. They help make sure that
if you are likely to be harmed by something in the study, you are not
exposed to that risk.
Testing in humans is permitted only if a person volunteers for participation.
The person is informed of all the risks and benefits of taking part in
the study, including details about the study approach and any tests that
may be performed. When a person decides to participate, he or she signs
a consent form. This process is called informed consent, and it lasts
as long as the person is in the study. In other words, a volunteer can
change his or her mind and leave a study at any time.
|