Clinical trials – a guide for CAB members (page 4)

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• Clinical trials are research studies involving people.
• The goal of a clinical trial is to answer specific questions about health, in the hope of finding better ways to prevent and treat diseases, and to improve care for people with diseases.
• A clinical trial begins with a research question. The question is usually: “Does this new medicine work against a disease?”
• After identifying the health question, the researchers (who are usually doctors or nurses) design a study to answer the question.
• The researchers collect information about whether the medicine is effective and safe in each patient in the study sample. Then they analyse (study) the results, which enables them to answer the research question.
• Next, the research results are published in scientific journals so that doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and other researchers will read them and learn from them.
• The hope for any clinical trial is to learn more about a medicine or health problem. By learning more, we improve patient care.