What is a clinical trial?
Research plays an essential role in the advancement, effectiveness and quality of medical treatment for everyone. They allow researchers to learn more about how well an experimental medication or procedure may or may not work.
According to www.clinicaltrials.gov, a service provided by the National Institutes of Health, there are several types of clinical trials available, including:
- Treatment trials: These focus on testing new drugs or surgical procedures;
- Prevention trials: These test a variety of ways people can prevent disease;
- Diagnostic trials: Look for better procedures to diagnose a disease or condition;
- Screening trials: Test the best way to detect a health condition or a disease; and
- Quality of life trials: Investigate ways to improve the quality of life for people living with a chronic illness.
It’s important to learn as much as possible about the research being conducted when you are considering participating in a clinical trial. When you were asked to participate in the trial, you should have been provided with an informed consent document providing the details surrounding the study. After reading the document, be sure to ask the study’s investigator any specific questions you may have.
It’s important to note that every clinical trial must be approved and monitored by the participating facility’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) currently supports 18 internal IRBs providing oversight for nearly 1,000 clinical trials across the system. CHW’s Human Research Protection Office provides for the regulatory and compliance oversight of all research conducted at CHW.
Deciding to participate in a clinical trial is a personal decision, and one that should not be taken lightly. If you decide to participate, you are providing a good service to the community by contributing to medical research that could make a difference in the future health and well-being of generations to come.
