If potential adverse effects can outweigh the benefits, you may be excluded from a trial. Even if you meet all the eligibility criteria, you won’t be able to join a study if an exclusion criteria item applies to you.Įxclusion criteria exist because of safety, practical, and error issues that can occur. There are also reasons a person may not participate, called exclusion criteria.

health indicators not related to the diagnosis being studied.

These factors are in place to make the study as safe and as accurate as possible.

This can include criteria related to eligibility or exclusion, as well as practical issues.Įach description of a specific study will outline the eligibility criteria required to participate. There are several criteria that must be considered in order for someone to be eligible to take part in a clinical study. It’s important to understand the potential risks before agreeing to take part in a clinical study. Many trials are blinded, meaning that neither the researchers nor you will know which treatment you’re getting. You might get the standard treatment for hepatitis C or a placebo, instead of the new treatment. Participation may give you access to new and improved treatments before the general population and enable you to treat your condition sooner than if you had to wait. You might be in a placebo group or a control group that receives no intervention.Ĭlinical trials help to improve future disease outcomes. If you’re in a clinical trial, the research team might assign you a regular dose of a medication or give you instructions about a medical device. This might be a new drug, device, procedure, or lifestyle change. Also known as clinical trials, these studies have an independent variable controlled by the research team. Instead, researchers group similar participants into categories and record what they see, such as the effects of exercise on cardiac health, or health outcomes from tobacco use. Participants can follow treatment prescribed by their doctor, but the study doesn’t change this treatment plan.

Researchers don’t assign any treatment, so there is no independent variable. These studies are organized according to a research plan. Clinical studies test possible outcomes by observing and controlling variables, such as the dosage of a medication or the effects of a new medication or changing the dose of a medication, for example.

With recent advances in hepatitis C treatment, most people can now be cured.Ĭlinical studies improve our medical knowledge with the help of human volunteers.

When you take part in a clinical study, you can learn more about your condition, take an active role in your own healthcare, and sometimes gain access to new treatments sooner.

If you are an adult with hepatitis C, there may be research trials you can join.

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