Participants are an important part of the clinical research process and make a lasting difference in the lives of others. By volunteering to participate in a clinical trial, you can help researchers advance medical care and knowledge, improving the health of future generations.
If compensation is available for a specific trial, the Research Staff at Gastroenterology Associates of Florida will review that with you at your initial review/screening.
In order to ensure the most objective results, some clinical trials use a placebo. A placebo is a substance that looks like the actual medicines used in the trial but provides no medical benefit. The purpose of placebos is to reduce bias by statistically controlling for patients’ expectations and beliefs about how they will feel after treatment.
In clinical trials, randomization is the process of assigning participants to double-blind treatment groups at random. In this way, neither the participant nor the researcher knows which treatment was assigned to which participant. Randomization enables researchers to study a phenomenon without any bias or preconceived notions about the outcome of the study.
Subjects who agree to participate in clinical research can expect that the activity will entail risks. These risks are not different from those experienced in activities of daily living, such as driving a car and should not deter you from considering participation. However, participants should be aware of the risks before enrolling in a clinical trial.