What is a clinical trial?
Clinical trials are research studies that explore whether a medical strategy, treatment or device is safe and effective for humans. These studies may also show which medical approaches work best for certain illnesses or groups of people. Clinical trials produce information that helps patients and their health-care providers make better health-related decisions.
Why Participate?
By participating in clinical research, you help accelerate medical science by providing valuable insights into potential treatments and methods of prevention. Participants with an illness or disease participate to help others, but also to possibly receive the newest treatment and to have the additional care and attention from the clinical trial staff.
Eligibility
Researchers follow clinical trials guidelines when deciding who can participate in a study. These guidelines are called Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria. These criteria are based on factors such as age, gender, the type and stage of a disease, treatment history, and other medical conditions. Trial coordinators can provide additional information about individual trials.
Looking for healthy volunteers
Healthy volunteers play a vital role in clinical studies, helping researchers learn how to keep people well. Some studies compare healthy people to those who have a specific disease. In addition to clinical trials that accept healthy participants, there are other clinical studies at Stanford Medicine that also seek healthy participants.
Project Baseline
Project Baseline is a broad effort designed to develop a well-defined reference, or “baseline,” of good health. Its rich data platform will be used to better understand the transition from health to disease and identify additional risk factors for disease.
Stanford Well for Life
Stanford WELL for Life wants to help you improve your health, wellness, and well-being through challenges, resources and tips to improve your well-being from Stanford experts.