Clinical trial participants must be respected
21st October 2013
People who participate in clinical trials assume they are contributing to a growth of knowledge and are not “simply ‘research fodder’ for clinical scientists” says Iain Chalmers of The James Lind Initiative in an article in The House magazine.
Iain sets out the problems of not all research being published, with trials suggesting beneficial effects being twice as likely to be published. He goes on to say that the “[f]ailure to report the results of studies that could not have been done without their help [participants] betrays the trust that they showed when they agreed to take part”.
Iain was writing following the release of a report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which among its recommendations called on the Government to ensure that clinical trials are registered and reported.