You can ensure a successful clinical trial if you are concise in the steps you take. The area that you will be using to conduct your research is one consideration. Check for any supporting data that you can find from other sources. Find out who else, if anyone, has conducted studies in the area you choose. Research will be the best tool you have to use your available resources shrewdly.
Step 1
Private information is sometimes hard to extract from people. If the need arises you can use an anonymous questionnaire. This way, you will have the information you need, but you can assure the participants that their names will not be used.
Step 2
The best way to ensure that you get the precise information you need for the study is to make a detailed list before compiling the questionnaire. Write down what you want to ask and double-check to make sure you did not miss anything. The clinical trials you are going to conduct may require special circumstances. Consider the following:
- What are the standards you will be utilizing?
- Will the subjects be reimbursed for their time?
- Will there be follow-up services?
- Will the trials be on an inpatient or outpatient basis?
The questionnaire must be created for the utmost ease of use. If not, you could end up with a lot of useless data. The concise use of questions to get the information you need has to be the first order of business. They must be pertinent to the study and you will need to expect other issues to come into the scope of the information you are seeking. At this point, non-essential information should be kept to a minimum, as it can be considered later when you conduct your pre-study visit.
Step 4
In order to have the best clinical trial, you will need to test it first for practicality. The questionnaire that you are planning to use will be a test run to make sure you have all the necessary questions to support your research and data. Using a control group to get feedback for your study is one way of making sure your questionnaire is easy to understand. Not only should it be understandable but the questions should get you the right kind of information.
Step 5
Provide an explanation for the resulting study. Explain what you are trying to accomplish and how you plan to do so. When you do this, the answers you will receive for your questionnaire will be more in tune with what you are seeking.
Where will you be conducting the clinical trial? Will you be at a location central to the subject area, or will this be a regional survey? Different cultures have various meanings and wording that may not be the same in other locations. This could have an affect on the answers you will receive. A website, book, or native of the test site could be helpful at this point.
Step 7
You need to expect a 20% to 40% response rate for the number of questionnaires you send out. Multiply the number of respondents you need by three or four and send that many our. If, for example, you send 500 questionnaires, you more than likely will receive 100 to 200 responses. There are several factors that will determine the response rate, so this has to be taken into consideration. If your plan for clinical trials is to do a global study, a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks should be the timeline for achieving your goals. The most reliable sources of data are medical, ethical, and regulatory.
Conclusion
The best clinical trials will be the ones that have excellent preparation. Planning should begin far enough in advance to ensure that last-minute hitches will not destroy the study. When you conduct clinical trials on a global basis, your sponsors may be in touch with any relevant parties that are associated with the trials. In accordance with good protocol, procedures are to be followed that respect the privacy of all participants. Also, depending on the study itself, the host government or health professional may need to address issues related with the study and any follow-up treatments that are proposed.
