Who Can Participate in Clinical Trials?

Clinical trials are designed to advance medical knowledge related to the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of health conditions and diseases. Clinical trials depend on volunteer participants. Depending on the type of trial and its phase, they’ll use specific criteria to identify the most appropriate participants. Volunteers with a specific illness or condition are needed as well as healthy volunteers. Here’s a general overview of the types of volunteers who can participate in clinical trials.  

Patient volunteers

Patient volunteers are needed for clinical trials to help researchers gather information on the effectiveness of treatments, the short-term side effects, and the best dosages. This and other information helps researchers understand more about the condition and how to effectively treat it. Patient volunteers obtain medical care related to the study free of charge and may gain access to new treatments that are currently unavailable to the general public. 

Healthy volunteers

In clinical trials, healthy volunteers provide comparison data that researchers use to determine the effects of the treatment on patients who do have the illness or condition. Healthy volunteers often serve as a “normal” baseline for the research, or as “control groups” who receive the same treatment as the patient volunteers. Healthy study subjects won’t directly benefit from the trial, but their participation plays a vital role in helping researchers develop new treatments for those who need them.

Volunteers from diverse backgrounds

Diversity and inclusion in clinical trials is crucial for helping researchers develop effective treatments that work for diverse populations. There are a range of factors that can influence responses to treatment, such as age, biological sex, socioeconomic status, genetic and geographic ancestry, lifestyle, and more.  When clinical trials enroll volunteers from diverse backgrounds, they are better equipped to develop treatments that improve individual and community health.  

Children

Children can participate in clinical research that is designed specifically for their age and stage of development. As a population, children have distinct developmental and physiological differences from adults. In order to develop safe medications and pediatric formulations, clinical research is of the utmost importance. As with all trials, children’s clinical trials have to pass rigorous ethical evaluations and meet certain standards before participants can be enrolled. Researchers also have specific requirements for participation.

Students

College students often volunteer for clinical research trials. Even if they don’t qualify as patients, students can participate as healthy volunteers. Many clinical research trials offer financial compensation for participation, and the additional income can be a big help on a student budget.  

Paid clinical trials in San Diego | Synergy Research Centers

At Synergy Research Centers, we offer research studies for healthy volunteers as well as studies for those who suffer from specific illnesses. Study participants are our most valuable allies in the fight against chronic pain, ADHD, and many other psychiatric and neurological conditions. For more information on how you can participate in paid research studies and help us produce groundbreaking research that truly makes a difference, call (888) 539-0282 or fill out our contact form today!