Information about taking part in
clinical trials
If you are being treated in the NHS you may be asked to take
part in a clinical trial or
you may be interested to find out about clinical trials that you
could participate in. Clinical trials are research studies
that involve patients or healthy people and are designed to test
new treatments.
If you would like to understand more about clinical trials in
general, or obtain information about specific clinical trials that
may be relevant to your needs, these resources may be helpful.
Information about clinical trials in general:
Controlled Clinical
Trials (web)
NHS
Direct Health Encyclopedia – Clinical Trials (web)
Testing
Treatments (book)
Clinical
Trials: What they are and what they're not (leaflet)
Understanding Clinical
Trials (booklet)
General information about clinical trials in specific
fields:
Cancer
Mental health
HIV/AIDS
Finding information about specific clinical trials in
the UK:
Information about specific clinical trials varies in its
‘user-friendliness’. By searching the resources below you may
find out about a trial in which you think you might want
participate. If so, you will probably need to discuss it with
your doctor or nurse. There may also be other trials that are
not in these resources that your doctor can tell you about.
Remember that there may not be a trial suitable for your
needs. If there isn’t, you may want to register your need
through a resource called DUETs.
To search for trials across many fields:
Current Controlled
Trials
UK Clinical Research Network
Portfolio
International Federation of
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations Clinical Trials
Portal
To search for trials within specific fields:
Cancer
or www.cancerbackup.org/trials/search
Mental Health
Search our directory of organisations that are looking for
people to get involved.
