If you decide to join the clinical trial, be sure to ask for a copy of the informed consent documents so you can review them at any time. Remember informed consent is more than signing a form. It is a process that continues through the study. You should feel free to ask the research team questions before, during, and after the study. Informed consent continues as long as you are in the study.
All clinical trials have guidelines about who can get into the program.
Guidelines are based on such factors as age, type of disease, medical history, and current medical condition. Before you join a clinical trial, you must qualify for the study. Some research studies seek volunteers with illnesses or conditions to be studied in the clinical trial, while others need healthy volunteers. Healthy volunteers participate in Phase I trials, vaccine studies, and trials on research on preventive care for children or adults. The factors that allow you to participate in a clinical trial are called inclusion criteria and the factors that keep you from participating are called exclusion criteria.