Question:
Do people who participate in clinical trials/research have better health outcomes (mortality/reduced symptoms/reduced recovery time) than people who do not?
Answer:
One well-conducted systematic review suggested that when
participants are invited to participate in a randomised controlled
trial, in addition to being informed about the risks and harms of
specific clinical interventions, they can also be told that
participating in a trial is likely to result in similar outcomes as
if they receive similar treatment outside the trial. Similarly,
other authors stated that patients being considered for entry into
trials can be reassured that they will not be disadvantaged by
entering a trial.
In contrast, some authors stated that more patients should be
encouraged to enroll in clinical trials due to an apparent
improvement in some outcomes. However, authors also noted that
disclosure of this information to potential clinical trial
participants may represent an ethical conflict and should be
carefully considered in light of existing ethical guidelines.
Research implications were not often reported in the included
studies. Authors reported that randomised comparisons with adequate
sample sizes are needed to provide reliable evidence of potential
differences in outcomes between patients who participate in
randomised trials compared with those who do not participate. Some
authors suggested that their studies required further validation at
other institutions, preferably on a multi-institutional basis,
because the situation may be different at other institutions.
To view the full summary, click the Download Document
link to the right.
To view the Cochrane review which is included in this summary,
click Related Documents, below.