Clinical trials are research studies on all new drugs or medical treatments and devices to determine their effectiveness and safety for human use. These studies are regulated by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and must pass several trials before receiving approval for release. For each study, volunteers with particular characteristics are recruited and often paid for their participation.
The first trial of a drug or device usually establishes its safety for human use. The volunteers sought are healthy people between the ages of 20 and 100. Some people, such as college students, make a practice of volunteering for these trials and earn $50-$300 per day or visit to supplement their finances.
Subsequent trials commonly include larger numbers of volunteers who have a particular illness or condition related to the drug or device being tested. All the possible effects of the drug or device are studied and the trials may continue for several years. Compensations are generally provided for expenses and amount of time spent.
Participation in clinical trials bring other benefits for volunteers beside the monetary compensation. In some studies, you will receive a thorough physical examination, sometimes including expensive tests such an MRI, EEG or complete blood analysis. You’ll be under medical care during the trial, and if you have a particular condition, you’ll be receiving research treatments not yet available to the public. Above all, you’ll be contributing to the advancement of science and medicine for the benefit of all.
There are several ways you can conduct a search for a clinical trial in which you might participate.
• You can ask your physician if he or she knows of studies in which you can participate.
• Check with local universities or local hospitals or clinics to see if they are recruiting for a trial.
• Do a search for “medical research” or “clinical trial” on CraigsList for your city.
• Centerwatch.com <a href="http://">http://www.centerwatch.com/clinical-trials/listings/locations.aspx</a> is a searchable database where you can locate clinical trials by medical condition, therapeutic area or location.
• ClinicalTrials.gov <a href="http://">https://clinicaltrials.gov/</a> allows you to search for diseases, specific drugs or treatments and a specific city or location, both in the U.S. and internationally.
The listings will show which studies are presently recruiting, the ages and genders eligible for study and whether they accept healthy volunteers. Other inclusion criteria such as health/disease condition and exclusion criteria such as smoking history will be listed. The contact person can be called or emailed for more information, including amount of compensation.
