www.clinicaltrials.gov www.fda.gov www.centerwatch.com www.ciscrp.org

All health research and clinical studies that involve human volunteers are reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB’s main concern is to make sure that volunteers are safe and that the study is fair and ethical. The IRB actively monitors each research study until the study is complete. The IRB must approve [...]

The time commitment depends on the type of study. Surveys may take 10-20 minutes, where focus groups may take 1-2 hours. Treatment studies could take months or years, but you may only be asked to come in for a visit once every few months. It all depends on what the study is looking at. [...]

No, some simply involve taking a survey or taking pictures of your food. Any study that requests biological samples, like blood, is required to explain this in the informed consent document.

All health research studies and clinical studies involve some degree of risk. For studies that only ask you to fill out a survey, the risks are minor, such as possibly asking you questions that could make you uncomfortable. For studies that ask you to take an experimental drug, the risks can be much greater, [...]

Even if you consent to participate in a health research or clinical study, you always have the right to stop at any time.

It is essential to be well-informed before you agree to participate in health research or a clinical study. Every study is going to have different benefits and risks associated with it. The following is a brief list of questions you may want to ask before agreeing to participate. What kind of study is this? [...]

There is no cost to participate in health research or clinical studies. In addition, there may be reimbursement for your travel, parking, and time. However, if researchers meet with you at your regular doctor office visits, your standard co-pay may apply.

Some studies will pay you for your participation. Before you agree to participate, you will be told whether you will be paid, how much you will be paid, how you will be paid (gift card, check, etc.), and when you will be paid (at each visit/session, at completion of study, etc.). Payment is not [...]

There are many reasons why people volunteer, including to help others, to help advance science or knowledge about a particular health condition, to possibly improve their own health, or to receive more treatment options that might not otherwise have been available to them.