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Clinical what?

  August 19, 2019

Clinical trials test health-related “interventions” to see how they work. Clinical trials often answer questions about interventions like: Is it safe? Does it improve or cure disease, or help people live longer with disease than other treatments? Does it help people feel better? If your question is: “How can I find out more about Clinical Trials?” our friends at Clinical Trials Ontario have information for you. Note, that this information is applicable across Canada, not just in Ontario. Read on to find out more…

Have you ever had questions about clinical trials?

Are you interested in clinical trials, but aren’t sure where to even start? The information on Clinical Trials Ontario’s website for patients and the public –  is there to help you. Based on where you are with respect to clinical trials, you can click on a topic area to see a list of frequently asked questions and corresponding answers to each of those questions:

  • Maybe you’re just interested in knowing more generally about clinical trials – then the “I want to learn about clinical trials” area is for you
  • If you’re already interested in looking for a clinical trial, the area called “I am looking for a clinical trial” is where you want to be
  • If you’ve found a clinical trial that you’re interested in, the obviously named “I’ve found a trial I’m interested in” section includes a list of questions that you might wish to ask about the clinical trial you’ve found.
  • There are also sections about “I am in a clinical trial” and “I am finished a clinical trial.”

The webpages about clinical trials were developed because people like you who are interested in clinical trials told us that they didn’t know where to find credible information about clinical trials.

More about finding a clinical trial

Many people, including patients, patient organizations, and health charities, told us they don’t know how to find a clinical trial even if they are interested in one. So in the “I am looking for a clinical trial” section of the website, you’ll find a Clinical Trials Finder that you can use to search for a clinical trial in any province or territory in Canada with just a few simple search terms. Information about corresponding clinical trials comes back in a logical, straightforward layout*. You can also find contact information for the trial so that you can reach out to learn more or print information about a specific clinical trial here.

The Clinical Trial Finder has been built to be simple and user-friendly, with useful search options and a welcoming design. Above all, we listened to and included input and feedback provided to us by patients, patient organizations and health charities. Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is one of the organizations that has provided valuable insights to CTO for many years about our work.

Sharing your own experiences with clinical trials

CTO is hosting a campaign called #TalkClinicalTrials in partnership with health charities like Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, patient advocacy groups, research organizations and others in Ontario and Canada. The #TalkClinicalTrials series will tell real stories about patient and public engagement with clinical trials and their importance for driving the future of medicine. Stories will be shared on the CTO website and on social media using the hashtag #talkclinicaltrials. If you’re interested in sharing your story as part of this blog series, email info@ctontario.ca.

About CTO

CTO is a not-for-profit organization working to improve the clinical trials environment in Ontario. We work with patients and the public, health charities and patient organizations, researchers, industry, and others to achieve this.

*Source: Clinicaltrials.gov. CTO has not verified the completeness or accuracy of the data.