Some clinical studies are conducted on participants with the specific disease or condition under observation. Others are more interested in research on healthy participants. Typically, healthy volunteers serve as a comparison group to those with an illness.
Clinical trials involving healthy patients help in the development of new techniques and medications, with a goal of not only offering a direct benefit to the participants but also to gather new information.
There are limitations as to the people eligible for participation in a clinical trial. Eligibility depends on the individual factors of the trial and the specific medical condition that researchers are looking into. These include characteristics like gender, age, type and stage of a disease, and treatment history.
After enrollment in the clinical study, participants continue to see their regular medical practitioners. A health care provider can work with the clinical research team to ensure study protocol does not affect or conflict with the patient’s medical needs and ongoing treatments. Participants may choose to withdraw from the experiment at any time.
Clinical trials can be classified as interventional or observational studies. Here are the types of Clinical Studies:
Interventional Study
Participants undergo a specific intervention plan according to the research design created by the investigators. Interventions may involve medical drugs or devices, procedures, or dietary changes. Researchers may conduct trials to compare the effect of a new medical approach, a standard practice, a placebo, and no intervention on patients with the same medical concern. Experiments are carried out to determine whether a new product will be beneficial, detrimental, or ineffectual to health.
The investigators will determine the outcome of the intervention by measuring their participants and comparing differences.
Observational Study
On the other hand, observational studies require no intervention. Investigators simply observe a group of individuals to learn about how different lifestyles can affect health. The participants may still receive medical drugs or devices and undergo procedures as part of their standard medical care.
Purpose of a Clinical Trial
Clinical studies are intended to contribute toward the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of medical diseases and conditions. Interventions involving medicines, vaccines, and lifestyle changes, for instance, may be used to prevent the initial development of some type of disease. Trials may also be used to explore different ways to improve palliative care strategies for those with chronic illnesses.
Review Boards
Clinical trials must undergo review, approval, and monitoring by an institutional review board. The board is made up of members of the medical community. Its goal is to ensure the study is ethical and the participants’ rights and welfare are properly protected. Essentially, they weigh the participation risks with the potential benefits of the study. The board has the power to grant or revoke clinical trials from taking place.
Medical research investigations hold the potential to prevent, detect, and treat various medical conditions. They require healthy individuals and patients with medical diseases to volunteer to try out newly developed treatments and interventions.
