Quick Guide to Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is a research study that “prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans
to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes.” Practically
speaking, clinical trials are research studies that find and test new treatments or procedures. Without
clinical trials, we would not have the medical and scientific advances that we have today.

There is a great deal of confusion about clinical trials. This Quick Guide provides resources to help
you learn more about participating in a clinical trial, to dispel myths about clinical trials, and to help you
find clinical trials that might be available to you.