Clinical Trials and Research

Clinical Trials and Research
A Guide for Community Advisory Board Members
Participant Manual


This teaching tool was developed by the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, with the support of the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group.

Excerpts from this publication may be freely reproduced or adapted with acknowledgement of the source, provided the material reproduced is for non-profit distribution.

PACTG Global Training Initiative


Glossary
* Clinical Trial: A way to test new medications
* Eligibility: Deciding if a person is qualified to join a clinical trial
* Phases: Stages
* Placebo: Dummy tablet
* Protocol: A written plan for the clinical trial
* Study sample: People to be studied in the clinical trial
* Volunteers: People willing to join the trial

What is a Clinical Trial?
Identify a health question.
Develop a plan.
Enroll volunteers and follow the plan.
Study the information collected.
Share the results with others.
Improve treatment.

Example of a Research Question
* Is Medicine A more effective for preventing mother-to-child transmission than
Medicine B?
Medicine “B”
Medicine “A”


Phases of Clinical Trials

Phase I:Safety(15–30 people)

Phase II:Safety and Effectiveness(Fewer than 100 people)

Phase III:
Effectiveness compared to standard of care; Safety(More than 100 to a few thousand)

Structure of a Simple Trial Comparing Two Treatments
Randomisation
Investigational Group
Control Group
Ethics Committees
* The ethics committee reviews a protocol before the study is allowed to start. Their job is to ensure that the risks of being in the study are not greater than the potential benefit.

Informed Consent
* To make informed decisions, patients need to hear and understand specific information about the research.

* Purpose
* Medicine to be studied
* Procedures and schedule
* Risks
* Potential benefits
* Alternatives to participation
* Confidentiality
* Participation in clinical trials is always voluntary.

No, thank you, I’d rather not participate.
Yes, I would like to participate.

Research Protocol
How
Why
Where
When
What
Who

Protocol
Objectives: Clear and Specific Statements
* Which medicine is more effective in reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV—Medicine “A” or Medicine “B”?

Medicine “B”
Medicine “A”

Eligibility
* Who may participate in this study
* Who may not (X) participate in this study

Data Safety and Monitoring Boards (DSMB)
* The job of the DSMB is to monitor the study for any problems with the safety or effectiveness of the medicines.

Safety
* A protocol must describe known risks or side effects and exactly what will be done to protect and monitor patients.

Schedule of Events
* To evaluate the effect of the medicine on their health, all patients in a trial have certain tests or procedures at regularly scheduled intervals.
Endpoints
* An endpoint is what researchers will measure to evaluate the results of a new medicine.
CAB: Part of the Research Team

* CAB members and volunteers who join clinical trials are part of the team dedicated to finding better ways to prevent and treat HIV.

How Have Clinical Trials Helped People with HIV?
* Clinical trials are critical in the effort to find better ways to treat HIV and AIDS.

How Have Clinical Trials Helped People with HIV?
* Antiretroviral medicines can greatly reduce the chance an infant will be HIV-infected during or after birth.

How Have Clinical Trials Helped People with HIV?
* They have greatly decreased sickness and death among patients who receive antiretroviral medicine.

Clinical Trials and Research.ppt