To participate in different clinical trials

What happens when you want to participate in a research study?

When you decide to participate in a clinical trial you might do so for different reasons:

To gain knowledge about a specific health issue or disease
To get access to tests of your health
To get access to new treatment
To help researchers create new drugs or treatments

No matter the reason for your decision – science has you to thank for the many advances in medicine and the new treatments that clinical trials often lead to. We’ve gathered some information to describe what it means to be a research participant in a clinical trial.

What is a clinical trial?

Clinical Trials are a type of research study that’s often conducted with human research participants to investigate different diseases, or to try the safety of new drugs, treatments or medical devices. To be allowed to run a clinical trial, one must first get an approval from the Swedish Etichal Review Authority. The approval means that the research live up to the ethical requirements needed for studies with human participants.

An interventional study

An interventional study is a kind of study that includes tests on human participants, both healthy and people with certain diagnoses or illnesses, for example IBS, diabetes, obstructive lung disease, asthma or allergy to name a few. The purpose of the study is usually to investigate the effects of a certain diet, treatment or new drug.

Studier är helt frivilliga och man har alltid rätt att avbryta sitt deltagande To participate in a study is completely voluntarily and you always have the right to terminate your participation.

It’s important to know that it’s completely voluntarily to participate in clinical trials, and before you enter a trial you have the right to get information about the study and what your participation implicate. You can, at any point, chose to terminate your participation without saying why.

How does Trialy work with clinical trials?

Trialy is a research portal that works with many different clinical trials. Our goal is to make it more accessible to participate in clinical trials, through a simple and transparent process. Trialy works to increase the publics interest for research and help researchers reach out to the public about which studies are currently looking for participants. Trialy works with many different organizations, for example Karolinska Institutet, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Skåne University Hospital as well as private companies such as CRO’s and pharmaceutical companies. Trialy works with clinical trials with different target groups in regards to age, gender, health status and geographical area.

“I want to participate in a clinical trial – how do I make that happen?”

On www.trialy.se, you can read more about the studies that are currently looking for participants. There you can read more about each specifik study, how it’s conducted and what it requires of you as a participant. For each study there’s an unique application form where you can apply to the study by answering a few questions. The questions usually include contact information and age, but also questions about your health that are relevant for the study. If you apply and match the criteria of the study, you will be contacted by the research team who will give you more information about the study and your role.

“I’ve applied to one of the studies on Trialy. How do I know if I match the criteria of the study?”

As soon as you send in your application to one of our studies, you will get an email informing you whether you match the criteria for the study or not. If you do, you will be contacted by the research team shortly, usually within 1-2 weeks. That you match the criteria in the application form does not necessarily mean that you will be included in the study, since there are sometimes additional tests or questions before you can be enrolled. But you’ve taken the first step towards becoming a research participant!

Participating in a study: step-by-step

You apply to one of our studies at www.trialy.se. You get an email right away informing you if you match the criteria for the study or not.
The research group will contact you, usually via telephone and/or email. You get more information about the study, and will be asked to consent to participating in the study.
You participate in the study. This might mean one or more visits to a research site or hospital, or following a special diet for a few weeks. Or, maybe to give blood samples with a few weeks in between.
You’ve completed the study. In some cases you will get financial compensation for your participation. Potential financial compensation is always decided and handled by the research group, and never by Trialy.