Bhansali S., Shafiq N., Malhotra S., Pandhi P., Singh I., Venkateshan S. P., Siddhu S., Sharma Y. P., Talwar K. K. | Contemporary Clinical Trials | 2009 | NCBI-PubMed |
Abstract
The comprehension of informed consent is an integral part of clinical trials. Though India is rapidly becoming a hub of clinical trials very few studies have dealt with the issue of comprehension of informed consent by the patients participating in these trials.
Patients who were invited to participate in a phase 3 multicentric trial of a novel lipid lowering agent were evaluated for comprehension score. The participants were explained about the structured consent form which included the question on background details for the study, design of the study, rights of the patients and miscellaneous aspects pertinent to the clinical trial. The questionnaire comprised of 24 items and each correct answer was assigned a score of 1. Total comprehension score (CS) was obtained by summing all the scores.
CS of patients in trials conducted in developing countries can be reasonably good if the investigators explain the consent form in simple language to the participants and CS is not related to the educational status of the participants. Moreover, though a larger majority of patients agree to participate after knowing study details, some patients exercise their right to refuse.