We want to highlight the motivation of patients who volunteer in clinical trials and clinical research projects to inspire others to participate and also to raise awareness about the experience of participating in clinical trials.
One of the main motivations for participating in clinical trials is altruism – the desire to help others by contributing to the research of new medical treatments.
As Brian, a member of the British Research Panel (the British equivalent of My Research Community) says,
“I have kids and grandkids. I want to help future generations, and we need research to get there. So even if I can help in a small way, it’s still something I would like to do,”
Hope it can improve personal health
Another important motivating factor for volunteering in research projects is the hope for better medical treatment.
“I signed up to participate in the clinical trials because I wanted to get access to the newest medicine available for type 2-diabetes” says Gitte a member of Forskningspanelet (the Danish equivalent of My Research Community).
Many patients who volunteer to participate in clinical research hope to receive a new and possibly better medical treatment. However, there is no guarantee of this, as the clinical trial can be both a blinded trial where half of the participants receive a placebo.
Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the medicine being tested will work for you or have a better effect than your current treatment.
Professional care from specialist
The third most popular reason to volunteer to participate in clinical research is to experience the care and attention of highly experienced healthcare professionals.
As a participant, you will often visit a hospital or clinic several times during a clinical trial. These visits involve check-ups and tests where you will receive a lot of information and input on how to manage your disease.
Another member of our patient community, Joan, describes the experience like this:”I have a clear personal benefit in that the hospital can follow me much more intensively than if I just went to my own doctor. I can only recommend it”
Every participant in a clinical trial or research project has their own reasons for volunteering.
We try to tell these stories to raise awareness and interest among patients to enrol and participate in clinical research.