Using the Internet to Find & Understand Clinical Trials Clinical
trials are an important part of the medical research process.
They answer questions which help researchers determine how well
a particular medical approach works. Answers to the following
questions can help you understand what a clinical trial is and
help you determine how and if you should participate in one. 1.
What is a Clinical Trial? A clinical trial is a health-related
study in which researchers investigate medical approaches to
determine how well they work in people. They can also help
researchers determine if new therapies or treatments are safe
and if they are better than current practices. The studies can
be designed to be either interventional or observational.
Interventional studies are those in which the trial participants
are assigned by the investigator to a treatment or other
intervention, and their outcomes are measured. Observational
studies are those in which participants are observed, surveyed
or watched, and their outcomes o