Why Participate in Clinical Research?
Your Contribution Could Help Shape the Future of Healthcare
Every medicine, treatment, diagnostic test and improvement in healthcare starts with a question.
Could we do this better?
Clinical research helps answer those questions. But research cannot happen without people.
By volunteering for a clinical trial or health and care research study, you can contribute to the evidence researchers need to understand health conditions, evaluate new approaches and improve healthcare for future generations.
At Pristine Health Solutions, we want clinical research to be accessible to people from all backgrounds and communities.
And increasingly, taking part in research does not always mean repeatedly travelling to a large hospital or research centre.
Some studies can take place partly in your home, online, at your GP practice or within your local community.
What Is Clinical Research?
Clinical research is research involving people that helps us learn more about health, illness, treatments and healthcare.
Research can take many different forms.
You might be invited to:
complete questionnaires
attend health assessments
provide blood or other samples
use a wearable or monitoring device
participate in interviews
attend appointments with healthcare professionals
test a new treatment or approach to care
participate remotely from home.
Some research involves people living with a particular health condition.
Other studies need healthy volunteers so researchers can compare information between different groups.
Every study is different, and every clinical trial has specific eligibility requirements.
Why Do People Participate?
People volunteer for clinical research for many different reasons.
1. Help Improve Healthcare
Research helps healthcare professionals understand which treatments and approaches work, which do not, and where healthcare can be improved.
The treatments available today exist partly because people before us volunteered to participate in research.
Your participation may contribute to knowledge that improves healthcare for people in the future.
2. Help Researchers Understand Your Health Condition
If you live with a particular condition, taking part in research may help researchers understand it better.
Researchers may study:
how a condition develops
why people experience it differently
how existing treatments work
whether new treatments could be effective
how symptoms affect everyday life
how healthcare services could provide better support.
Your individual experience can contribute valuable information.
3. Help Make Research More Representative
Healthcare affects everyone.
That means research also needs people from different communities and backgrounds.
People of different:
ages
ethnic backgrounds
cultures
socioeconomic circumstances
geographical areas
health conditions
abilities and disabilities
may experience health and healthcare differently.
When research includes a broader range of people, researchers can better understand whether findings apply across the communities healthcare is intended to serve.
At Pristine Health Solutions, we believe communities that have historically been less represented in research should have greater opportunities to hear about and consider participating in research.
You Don't Always Need a Health Condition
You may be surprised to learn that you don't necessarily need to be unwell to participate in research.
Some studies need people without the condition being investigated.
These participants are sometimes called healthy volunteers.
Researchers may use information from healthy volunteers as a comparison or may recruit healthy participants for particular types of clinical research.
Eligibility is different for every study, so the research team will explain who can participate.
What Are Decentralised Clinical Trials?
Traditionally, clinical trials have often required participants to travel to hospitals or specialist research centres.
Research is changing.
A decentralised clinical trial brings some study activities closer to the participant instead of requiring every activity to happen at a traditional research site.
Depending on the study, this could include:
Home visits
A trained healthcare professional may visit you at home to carry out approved study activities.
Remote consultations
Some appointments may take place through telephone or video consultations.
Home sample collection
Where appropriate for the study, blood or other biological samples may be collected at home.
Wearable technology
A study might use devices that collect certain health information while you continue your normal daily activities.
Digital questionnaires or diaries
Information may sometimes be recorded securely using a smartphone, tablet or computer.
Not every clinical trial can be delivered this way. The arrangements depend on the individual study and its approved protocol.
At Pristine Health Solutions, our aim is to help make appropriate research opportunities more accessible by supporting research in homes, primary care and community settings.
[Learn about Clinical Research at Pristine Health Solutions →]
What Happens Before I Join a Study?
Showing interest in a clinical trial does not mean you have agreed to participate.
The research team will first provide information about the study and determine whether it may be suitable for you.
Before agreeing to participate, you should be given information about matters such as:
why the research is being conducted
what participation involves
how long the study will last
what appointments or procedures are required
possible risks or side effects
potential benefits and uncertainties
what information will be collected about you
how your information will be used
who to contact if you have questions.
You should have an opportunity to ask questions before deciding.
Participation Is Your Choice
Taking part in research is voluntary.
You should never feel pressured into joining a clinical trial.
You can ask questions, discuss the study with people you trust and take the time available to consider whether participating is right for you.
If you decide not to participate, that decision should not disadvantage your usual healthcare.
If you join a study and later change your mind, you can normally withdraw from participation. The study team will explain what withdrawal means for the particular study and for information or samples already collected.
Your research team should explain these matters during the informed-consent process.
Are Clinical Trials Safe?
Clinical research is carefully controlled, but participating in research can involve risks.
Those risks depend on the study.
For example, a study investigating a medicine may involve possible side effects. Other studies may involve inconvenience, additional appointments, blood tests or other procedures.
Importantly, researchers may not yet know everything about a new treatment—that is one reason the research is being conducted.
Before deciding whether to participate, you should be given information about the known potential risks and benefits relevant to that study.
Ask questions whenever something is unclear.
Questions You May Want to Ask
Before joining a study, consider asking the research team:
Why is this study being carried out?
What will I have to do?
How long will I be involved?
How many visits will I need?
Can any visits take place at home or remotely?
What are the possible risks or side effects?
Are there potential benefits to me?
What happens if I decide to stop participating?
Will taking part cost me anything?
Are travel or other reasonable expenses reimbursed?
Who should I contact if I have concerns during the study?
There is no such thing as a silly question when you are deciding whether to participate in research.
Interested in Taking Part?
Taking the next step does not commit you to participating in a clinical trial.
It simply gives you an opportunity to find out more.
Explore Research with Pristine Health Solutions
Discover more about our work supporting health and care research in communities, primary care, care homes and people's homes.
[Explore Healthcare Research →]
Find UK Research Opportunities
You can also use the National Institute for Health and Care Research's Be Part of Research service to search for health and care research taking place across the UK.
You can search for studies relating to health conditions that interest you and explore opportunities in your area.
Would You Like to Hear About Research Opportunities?
If you would like to speak with Pristine Health Solutions about clinical research or register your interest in hearing about suitable research opportunities, contact our team.
Expressing interest does not mean that you have agreed to participate in a study.
Eligibility and informed consent are considered separately for each individual research study.
Get in Touch
Telephone: 0161 523 6500
Email: admin@pristinehealthsolutions.co.uk
Pristine Health Solutions
12 Wood Street
Middleton
Manchester
M24 5TF
Research Starts With People
Behind every medical discovery are people who asked questions, researchers who searched for answers and volunteers who chose to contribute.
Whether you participate in one questionnaire, provide a sample, use a research device, attend a clinical trial appointment or allow a research professional to visit you at home, your contribution can become part of something much bigger.
Today's research can help create tomorrow's healthcare.
