Why should I take part in a research project?
People participate in human research projects for various reasons.
The reasons may be, for example:
- Making a contribution to scientific progress in general
Research is dependent on people voluntarily making their health data and biological material available. Otherwise, no research can be carried out. The evaluation of such data can lead to new insights into diseases or treatments. Or it may be discovered that existing treatments have certain disadvantages and alternative treatments can then be developed.
- Possibly obtaining a direct benefit for oneself
By taking part in a clinical study, it may be that participants can gain access to new, otherwise unavailable experimental treatments. It should be borne in mind, however, that often a new treatment will be compared with an existing treatment, and only a randomly selected group of participants will receive the new treatment. So there is no guarantee that one will actually receive the new treatment. But all the participants will certainly be closely monitored.