What do people know about clinical trials?
In the JAMA Network Open published the results of a new survey on the importance of clinical research.
The survey showed that people are aware of the importance of clinical research (CT), but do not know how they are conducted.
The fact that clinical trials are important for the development of new drugs is considered by 85% of respondents (10,506 people); 90% of respondents (11,182 people) believe that CT are safe.
However, 5,578 out of 12,427 people (44.9%) reported that doctors rarely suggest participation in CT as a possible treatment method.
Ennik Anderson, the head of research and director of research services at the Information and Research Center, believes that one of the main reasons that impede the development of medicines is the difficulty in recruiting clinical trial participants. Increasing the level of knowledge about CT among “ordinary people” can be a good solution to this problem. After all, the ultimate goal of our work is to bring drugs to the market as soon as possible so that new effective treatment methods become available to patients.
The survey involved 12,427 respondents from 68 countries. Among the respondents were 2,200 people who participated in clinical trials. Survey participants were asked what they knew about the clinical study, how they got information about the research and what problems they encountered during their decision to participate in the CT.
Although most participants agreed that clinical research is important for the emergence of new drugs, more than half of them do not know where the research is being conducted. Respondents consider participation in clinical trials as burdensome for them. Among those who did participate in clinical studies, about half stated that this led to changes in their daily lives.
“We want to attract patients and medical staff in order to tell how the research protocol is being developed and to introduce them to the research procedures,” said Anderson. Previous studies have focused on the perspectives of researchers and physicians involved in the research, as well as on the difficulties in clinical trials. .
According to Susan Bartlett from Universtet McGill in Montreal, even today many drug studies do not pay enough attention to the information that patients report, such as fatigue or dyspeptic symptoms.
“In essence, we are conducting clinical trials to improve the lives of patients,” said Susan Bartlett to Reuters Health. “The possibility of conducting CT depends largely on the altruism of patients and their belief that the tests we carry out are safe and important for the development of science.”
Bartlett and colleagues conducted studies in the United States, Canada, and Australia on patients with arthritis. What doctors call “unpleasant side effects,” such as fatigue, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal pain, has been identified. They turned out to be common, permanent and “incapacitating” phenomena.
Even if the medicine helps with arthritis, it no longer matters if the patient is constantly feeling tired.
“Patient-oriented approaches in CT are in the early stages of development,” Bartlett added. “We assume that the cumulative effect of adverse reactions from drug intake has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients and reduces compliance with treatment.”
Methods are being developed to make patient-oriented clinical research. This includes identifying the risks and benefits of participation in CT, from the point of view of patients.
“Feel free to talk,” said Bartlett. “Tell us what we do well and where there is room for improvement.” We will all benefit from this.
Link: jamanetwork.com
