Why take part
What taking part can mean for you, and for others
Every treatment you can get today was once tested in a study, with people who chose to take part.
Access to new treatments
Studies test treatments before they are widely available. Taking part can be a way to try one that may help you.
Care from a study team
Doctors and nurses follow your health closely while you take part, often with more check-ins than usual care.
Help others with your condition
Every study brings better care closer for the people who come after you. Healthy volunteers make that possible too.
Often, paid for your time
Many studies pay for your time and travel. Each study's page says what it offers.
Things to weigh
Taking part is a real decision, and it's fine to decide it isn't for you.
It may not help you
A study is finding out whether a treatment works. It may work less well than what you have now, or not at all.
You may get a placebo
Many studies compare the treatment with a placebo, which has no medicine in it, and you may not know which you get.
Risks and side effects
A new treatment can have effects that aren't known yet. The study team explains the known risks, and watches for new ones.
Your time
Visits, tests and phone calls, sometimes for months, and now and then a night at the site. A study's page says what its site has told us, under What to expect.
Questions to ask the study team
They call you after you apply. Ask anything; these are a start.
- What will I have to do, and how often?
- Could I get a placebo?
- What are the risks, and what happens if I have a side effect?
- Are my time and travel paid?
- Can I keep taking my usual medicines, and seeing my own doctor?
- What happens when the study ends?
Taking part is always your choice. Applying is not agreeing: the study team explains everything, risks included, before you sign anything, and you can leave at any time. More questions
Ready to see what's near you?
Find a study near you