Children's Participation in Clinical Trials
Are you interested in finding out about clinical trials or other well designed studies?
Clinical trials in children and young people
Well-designed clinical trials make a vital contribution to advancing medical knowledge, and so improve treatment, care and quality of life for all, including children. Because children are different from adults developmentally and physiologically, clinical trials in children are essential to ensure they receive appropriate, safe and effective treatments and care. Until well-designed trials have been carried out, we simply do not have enough evidence to know if a treatment is both effective and safe. Without trials, there is a risk that people will be given treatments which do not work and which may be harmful.
When parents are asked to enrol their children in a clinical trial it is important they understand what is involved and can make informed choices – together with their children, if they are old enough.
To find out more about what it is like to participate and what happens during research studies and clinical trials, please click on the links below. Some links have video footage of participants and researchers talking about their experiences.
Making the decision about enrolling your child in a clinical trial
- http://www.youthhealthtalk.org/Clinical_trials_in_children_and_young_people/
- http://www.youtube.com/user/ClinicalTrialsForMe
- www.clinicaltrials.eu.com