General Information
Choosing to participate in a clinical trial is a personal decision. Listed below is some general information that may help you and your physician decide if participation in a clinical trial is right for you.
If you would like assistance addressing participant concerns, suggestions on how to simplify your written documents, or would like your consenting process observed contact:
Sadie Gabler, Research Participant Advocate
801-581-3803
participant.advocate@hsc.utah.edu
Introduction to Research
How Do I Enroll in a Clinical Trial at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ of Utah Health?
First, review our list of current clinical trials to determine whether one of our current clinical trials might be right for you. At the end of each clinical trial description, you will find information on who to contact if you are interested in more information and potentially enrolling in the study.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵ of Utah Health also participates in ResearchMatch. A secure place for volunteers and researchers to find one another. If you want to volunteer, ResearchMatch may be the right match for you. Visit the for more information.
What Are the Benefits & Risks of Participating in a Clinical Trial?
Benefits
Clinical trials that are well-designed and well-executed are the best approach for eligible participants to:
- Play an active role in their own health care.
- Gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available.
- Obtain expert medical care at leading health care facilities during the trial.
- Help others by contributing to medical research.
Risks
There are risks to clinical trials:
- There may be unpleasant, serious or even life-threatening side effects to experimental treatment.
- The experimental treatment may not be effective for the participant.
- The protocol may require more of their time and attention than would a non-protocol treatment, including trips to the study site, more treatments, hospital stays or complex dosage requirements.
Who Can Participate & The Process
Who Can Participate in a Clinical Trial?
All clinical trials have guidelines about who can participate. Using inclusion/exclusion criteria is an important principle of medical research that helps to produce reliable results. The factors that allow someone to participate in a clinical trial are called inclusion criteria and those that disallow someone from participating are called exclusion criteria.
These criteria are based on such factors as:
- age,
- gender,
- the type and stage of a disease,
- previous treatment history, and
- other medical conditions.
Before joining a clinical trial, a participant must qualify for the study. Some research studies seek participants with illnesses or conditions to be studied in the clinical trial, while others need healthy participants.
It is important to note that inclusion and exclusion criteria are not used to reject people personally. Instead, the criteria are used to identify appropriate participants and keep them safe. The criteria help ensure that researchers will be able to answer the questions they plan to study.
What Should You Consider Before Participating in a Trial
People should know as much as possible about the clinical trial and feel comfortable asking the members of the health care team questions about it, the care expected while in a trial, and the cost of the trial. The following questions might be helpful for the participant to discuss with the health care team. Some of the answers to these questions are found in the informed consent document.
- What is the purpose of the study?
- Who is going to be in the study?
- Why do researchers believe the experimental treatment being tested may be effective? Has it been tested before?
- What kinds of tests and experimental treatments are involved?
- How do the possible risks, side effects, and benefits in the study compare with my current treatment?
- How might this trial affect my daily life?
- How long will the trial last?
- Will hospitalization be required?
- Who will pay for the experimental treatment?
- Will I be reimbursed for other expenses?
- What type of long-term follow up care is part of this study?
- How will I know that the experimental treatment is working? Will results of the trials be provided to me?
- Who will be in charge of my care?
Informed Consent & Safety
What Is Informed Consent?
Informed consent is the process of learning the key facts about a clinical trial before deciding whether or not to participate. It is also a continuing process throughout the study to provide information for participants.
To help someone decide whether or not to participate, the doctors and nurses involved in the trial explain the details of the study. If the participant's native language is not English, translation assistance can be provided. Then the research team provides an informed consent document that includes details about the study, such as its:
- purpose,
- duration,
- required procedures, and
- key contacts.
Risks and potential benefits are explained in the informed consent document. The participant then decides whether or not to sign the document. Informed consent is not a contract, and the participant may withdraw from the trial at any time.
What Are Side Effects & Adverse Reactions?
Side effects are any undesired actions or effects of the experimental drug or treatment. Negative or adverse effects may include headache, nausea, hair loss, skin irritation, or other physical problems. Experimental treatments must be evaluated for both immediate and long-term side effects.
How Is the Safety of the Participant Protected?
The ethical and legal codes that govern medical practice also apply to clinical trials. In addition, most clinical research is federally regulated with built in safeguards to protect the participants. Every clinical trial in the US must be approved and monitored by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to make sure the risks are as low as possible and are worth any potential benefits.
An IRB is an independent committee of physicians, statisticians, community advocates, and others that ensures that a clinical trial is ethical and the rights of study participants are protected. All institutions that conduct or support biomedical research involving people must, by federal regulation, have an IRB that initially approves and periodically reviews the research.
Preparing & What to Expect
What Happens During a Clinical Trial?
The clinical trial process depends on the kind of trial being conducted. The clinical trial team includes doctors and nurses as well as other health care professionals. They check the health of the participant at the beginning of the trial, give specific instructions for participating in the trial, monitor the participant carefully during the trial and stay in touch after the trial is completed.
Some clinical trials involve more tests and doctor visits than the participant would normally have for an illness or condition. For all types of trials, the participant works with a research team. Clinical trial participation is most successful when the protocol is carefully followed and there is frequent contact with the research staff.
What Kind of Preparation Should You Make for the Meeting with the Research Coordinator or Doctor?
Plan ahead and write down possible questions to ask. It may be helpful to ask your personal physician for input. Ask a friend or relative to come along for support and to hear the responses to the questions.
Does a Participant Continue to Work with a Primary Care Health Provider While in a Trial?
Yes. Most clinical trials provide short-term treatments related to a designated illness or condition, but do not provide extended or complete primary health care. In addition, by having the health care provider work with the research team, you can ensure that other medications or treatments will not conflict with the protocol.
Can You Leave a Clinical Trial After it Has Begun?
Yes. A participant can leave a clinical trial, at any time. When withdrawing from the trial, the participant should let the research team know about it, and the reasons for leaving the study.
Payment for Clinical Trials
The clinical trial sponsor (whether it is the government or a company) may pay for the:
- experimental treatment,
- special testing,
- extra doctor visits, travel time, and
- travel expenses.
Some health insurance companies also will cover routine costs in clinical trials. Some health insurance companies will cover the costs of procedures that the patients would have even if they were not in a clinical trial (routine costs).
For Medicare patients, routine costs are covered in all Medicare-qualified clinical trials. You will be responsible for any costs not covered by the clinical trial sponsor or your health insurance company. Therefore, be sure to ask questions before deciding to participate, especially to confirm what costs your health insurance company will cover.
After the Clinical Trial Is Completed
After the clinical trial ends, what happens to the information and results?
As a clinical trial progresses, researchers report the results of the trial at scientific meetings, to medical journals, and to various government agencies. Researchers give patients a number or code to protect their identities. When the clinical trial results are published, patients’ names are not used.
Medical professionals around the world use information from these presentations and publications to refine their approach to treating clinical problems. In addition, results from clinical trials are used by regulatory agencies (in the US, the Food and Drug Administration) to evaluate whether to grant regulatory approval to a new drug or medical device.
Meet Research Participants
Resources
Connecting Volunteers & Researchers
Ï㽶ÊÓƵ of Utah Health participates in ResearchMatch, a secure place for volunteers and researchers to find one another.