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Clinical Trials

Home > Illnesses and Disabilities Home > Health Care > Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are studies aimed at finding ways to prevent or treat illness or disability.

If you have an illness or disability, you can help yourself and others by taking part in clinical trials. Find out more about clinical trials at clinicaltrials.gov.

Additional Resources

Publications

1.   Clinical Trials - This fact sheet discusses the benefits and risks of participating in clinical trials.

   http://www.fda.gov/womens/getthefacts/trials.html

2.   Clinical Trials Databases - This Internet site from the National Institutes of Health provides regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research. In addition it gives information about a trial’s purpose, participants, location, and phone numbers.

   http://clinicaltrials.gov

3.     Clinical Trials of Medical Treatments: Why Volunteer? - This brochure explains the nature of clinical trials for the use of new medications and treatments. In addition it explains the importance of the participation of both women and minorities.

   http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/cltr.pdf

4.     Medicare & Clinical Trials - This is an official government publication that explains what a clinical trial is, why people choose to join and not join, whether or not Medicare covers the routine costs of the trials, and also where to find answers to questions.

   http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/02226.pdf

5.   National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network - This web site outlines the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s new clinical trials network (CTN), which will test whether new and improved treatment components are effective in real-life settings with diverse populations. Included is information about the first six regional centers that link with at least five community treatment programs in their regions.

   http://www.drugabuse.gov/ClinicalTrials.html

6.   NIMH Clinical Trials - This site provides information about clinical trials in the mental health area. It also provides information on many different types of mental illnesses.

   http://www.nimh.nih.gov/studies/index.cfm

7.   Understanding Risk: What Do Those Headlines Really Mean? - This publication briefly explains how medical research studies are conducted and how they explain the results. It goes into greater detail about how you can interpret and understand the results in a way that can help you make informed decisions about your health care.

   http://www.niapublications.org/tipsheets/risk.asp

Organizations

1.   National Eye Institute, NIH, HHS
2.   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Information Center, NHLBI, NIH, HHS
3.   Office of Rare Diseases, OD, NIH, HHS
4.   Office of Special Health Issues, FDA, OPHS, HHS
5.   Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, NIH, HHS
6. Thomson Center Watch: Clinical Trials Listing Service
7. WomanCanDo.org

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated May 15, 2008.