Clinical Trials

Smart Talking about clinical studies

Clinical studies help us develop new medicines. And if you join one, you might want to tell friends, family and people online about it. That’s great. Why? Because clinical studies need volunteers and telling them will help get people more involved. But words are powerful – so powerful they can change:

How someone feels (e.g., their health)
The results of a study
The future of the medicine being tested
What someone thinks about clinical studies

This website explores this power, showing you how to speak out, but speak smart.

Video
Gallery

The
surprising effects of words

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The
surprising
effects
of words are powerful

Words are powerful. That’s why talking about a
clinical study can change its results. For example, talking to someone on the same study about how you’re feeling or your experience of the study can change:

The way they feel (e.g., hearing about a headache can cause you to develop a headache)
The way they think about the study (e.g., your opinions could color their own)

Please watch our short films to learn more.

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WHO ARE WE?

We’re part of a global community that conducts clinical studies to help develop treatments that may make life a little better for people with life-changing conditions. We’re so thankful to all our study participants and their families because, without them, none of this would be possible.

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Helping make medicine better

Potential new medicines can be found almost anywhere. Aspirin, for example, came from the bark of willow trees. But before doctors are allowed to prescribe them, they must be tested. Say hello to clinical studies.

What is a clinical study?

Clinical studies let us test how potential new medicines affect human volunteers and every year, thousands of people take part. These people may improve both their own health and the health of others around the world.

During clinical studies, every volunteer’s health is monitored closely. This may be done during visits to a study clinic or over the telephone. These checks let us keep an eye on each volunteer’s condition and find out whether or not the medicine works.

Who takes part in clinical studies?

Different types of study need different types of volunteer. For example, some studies need healthy volunteers and others need volunteers with a specific disease or condition.

Participants are called volunteers because they do just that – they volunteer and can quit (withdraw from) a study at any time without affecting their usual healthcare (their doctors won’t treat them any differently).

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Slipping through screening

Before a volunteer can join a clinical study, they are screened. This makes sure they are a good fit for the study. During screening, people usually:

Answer questions about their health
Undergo some assessments (e.g., blood tests)

It’s important to answer the study staff’s questions honestly – answers should not be affected by something someone else has said about his or her screening experience. If they are, it might mean someone joins a study that isn’t right for them. This might put them at risk of side effects and affect the outcome of the study.

Tell all

Tell a little

When is a side effect not a side effect?

When taking part in a clinical study, volunteers must report any side effects to the study team (no matter how unimportant they seem). This helps us check the safety of the study medicine.

It can be tempting to tell other volunteers about these side effects, but it’s really important not to do this because it could change the outcome of the study. Why? Well, it’s all about the power of suggestion – even just hearing about a side effect can be enough to trigger the real thing – even if someone is taking a placebo!

Tell the whole truth

Hold back a little

The Placebo Effect

Many clinical studies use placebos. These look like medicine but have no active ingredients and help us find out whether any effects (improvements or side effects) seen are due to the study medicine or something else.

Sometimes, volunteers given a placebo see an improvement in their condition due to the placebo effect. This effect happens because volunteers’ expectations of the good effects of a medicine are so strong – so feel better even when they’re on placebo (remember, they don’t know whether they’re getting a placebo or not).

But the term “placebo effect” can be misleading – it can affect those taking any study medicine, too. For example, a volunteer’s expectations can enhance the effects of an active medicine to make a good drug look even better! This sounds like a good thing, but to test a medicine properly, it’s important we know its true effectiveness.

Tell the world

Tell only the study team

Want to learn more?

ClinicalTrials.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov is like a search engine for clinical studies. It gives you information about each study’s goal, who can take part, where it’s happening and how to find out more about a particular study.

CISCRP

CISCRP (the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation) is an independent nonprofit organization that educates people about volunteering for clinical studies. It doesn’t recruit or carry out studies itself.

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What’s it all mean?

Clinical studies

Usually, during a clinical study, volunteers are given a potential new medicine to help us test its safety and/or whether it works for a disease or condition. Volunteers are closely monitored and can quit (withdraw from) the study at any time.

Study drug

A potential new medicine for a disease or condition that cannot yet be prescribed by doctors.

Placebo (also known as a sugar pill or dummy drug)

A placebo looks like medicine but has no medicine in it. Placebos are used in clinical studies to help us find out whether any effects seen in volunteers are due to the potential new medicine or some other factor (e.g., the extra monitoring given by the study staff).

Placebo effect

When the condition of a person taking a placebo improves. This can happen because if someone expects to get better (remember, a placebo looks like a medicine and volunteers won’t know whether they’re receiving a placebo or a study medicine), this can have a positive effect on his or her disease or condition.

Screening

Makes sure volunteers meet the criteria (e.g., age and current health condition) for a particular study. Screening stops people who might not benefit from the study from joining. It also makes sure the study’s results are useful (e.g., if a study medicine is intended for children, having adults join the study won’t produce useful information).

Side effect

A problem caused by a medicine or study medicine. These can range from headaches to nightmares.

Withdrawal

Volunteers can quit a study at any time, even after they have begun taking a study medicine. They may also be withdrawn on their own behalf if they experience any serious side effects. This protects their safety and won’t affect their usual healthcare (their doctors won’t treat them any differently).

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We’d love to hear from you!

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us. Our clinical study experts are ready and waiting!

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Smart Talking about clinical studies

Video Gallery

The surprising effects of words

The surprising effects of words are powerful

WHO ARE WE?

Helping make medicine better

What is a clinical study?

Who takes part in clinical studies?

Mobile Videos

Slipping through screening

When is a side effect not a side effect?

The Placebo Effect

Want to learn more?

ClinicalTrials.gov

CISCRP

What’s it all mean?

Clinical studies

Study drug

Placebo (also known as a sugar pill or dummy drug)

Placebo effect

Screening

Side effect

Withdrawal

We’d love to hear from you!

Slipping through screening

When is a side effect not a side effect?

The Placebo Effect

Video
Gallery

The
surprising effects of words

The
surprising
effects
of words are powerful