Bierer on Clinical Reserach

I have often thought of what I – or my elderly mother or uninformed nephew—would wish to know before deciding about participation in clinical research, but it is nearly impossible to narrow the desired information to the one most important point.  On the one hand, what any individual needs to – or wishes to – know will differ and be filtered through their personal and health situation, life experiences, nature and character. On the other hand, this is because the decision is, at its core, a nuanced choice that involves a balance between often competing factors. It is not possible, for instance, to evaluate the potential benefits of the research without assessment of its risk; it is not possible, for instance, to comprehend the risks of injury or risks to privacy without knowing the safeguards to protect the participant or the compensatory measures if injury occurs or such privacy is breached.  Volunteering for research participation is weighted: there is no one right answer and there is no one most important thing. That said, it is worthwhile to consider what important information to convey to a potential research participant or what information is necessary to understand were one considering participating oneself.  As a preliminary measure, I think that it is critical to comprehend that in the absence of clinical research, new knowledge would not be readily forthcoming; diagnoses and understanding of natural history, pathogenesis and treatments of disease would st...
Source: PHRMA - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news