No pressure, no jargon, and no assumption that you will say yes. Read first, ask anything, decide later.
A clinical trial is a carefully planned study that answers a specific question about a medication, vaccine, device, or approach to care — for example whether it works, how the body responds, or what side effects occur.
A study follows a written plan called a protocol. The protocol decides what happens at each visit, not the research staff and not the sponsor paying for the study.
Research is designed to produce knowledge. It may or may not help you personally, and no one can promise a benefit. Some studies involve a placebo or a comparison group.
Taking part does not replace your regular medical care. Keep seeing your own doctor, and tell your research contact about other care you are receiving.
These stages are separate on purpose. An interest form or an app match never establishes eligibility.
You tell us you are interested. Nothing has been decided. No medical information is needed to ask a question.
A short conversation about general information, with your permission, to see whether a study may be worth discussing. This is not an eligibility decision.
Only after you have gone through informed consent. A qualified investigator or delegated research professional applies the study's specific criteria, which may include tests or exams.
If screening shows the study is appropriate for you and you still choose to take part, you are enrolled.
Study visits, procedures, and follow-up as described in the consent form — with your ability to stop at any point.
Informed consent is a conversation, not a signature. Before any study procedure, the research team explains the purpose of the study, what you would be asked to do, how long it lasts, the known and possible risks, any potential benefits, alternatives to taking part, how your information is handled, and who to contact with questions.
You can take the consent document home. You can bring a family member, a friend, or your own physician into the conversation. You can ask the same question more than once. You can say no at the end of it.
If something about the study changes in a way that could matter to you, you should be told and asked again.
Your rights, in short
Each study has its own schedule: number of visits, length of each visit, procedures such as blood draws or questionnaires, and any at-home steps. You should be told the schedule before you agree to anything.
Some studies compensate participants for time and travel, and some do not. Amounts and conditions are set by the individual study and described in the consent form. Compensation is never a promise of medical benefit, and we do not guarantee payment on this website.
Research information is handled with limits on who can see it and why. There are also specific situations where information may be shared, such as regulatory oversight or monitoring. See the details.
You can ask what a study involves without sharing any medical information.
