Former Clinical Trial Participants Last 5 Years - Medicines Trials

For the longest time, the media has been considered the fourth pillar of democracy – however, as times are getting tougher and misinformation is spreading, credibility of journalists is often at stake. The Journalism Science Alliance, a consortium of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA) and the European Journalism Centre (EJC),serves as an effective countermeasure by supporting investigative journalism grounded on scientific evidence. I have the pleasure to mentor one of the most recent health awardees from France, who are looking into investigating regulatory failures in medical research to improve patient safety and healthcare across Europe. Thus, I would like to create awareness on their most recent search for former participants of clinical trials. “Have you taken part in a clinical trial of medicines recently? We would like to hear from you! We are an international team (academic + media) investigating how clinical trial data is used and disseminated and we would like to get in touch with former volunteers who have been in clinical trials of medicines in the last 5 years. We will ask you about your experience and expectations. What is our aim? Well, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are essential to assess the safety and efficacy of prescription drugs. Volunteers who enrol in RCTs are eager to contribute to science, for the greater good. Several regulations ensure that the results of RCTs are communicated in a complete and timely manner, among other things to allow analysis by independent experts (other than the sponsor – that’s the public or private entity that pays for the trial). In the last decades, these efforts towards transparency have not always been successful, but volunteers, and the public in general, are often unaware of these issues. Willing to share your experience and perspective? Please contact us at [email redacted] We’re looking forward to hearing from you!” #JournalismScienceAlliance #EJC #publichealthsafety #evidence