Does this study define a partner role?
Read the actual requirement or invitation. ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03043573 describes Problem Adaptation Therapy research with older adults experiencing depression and mild cognitive impairment. Its detailed description includes study partners. This is a verified mental health example, not a claim that your study needs a partner or that the named study is currently available.
What activities might this role include?
In that specific record, the partner provides information about the treatment participant and may join treatment activities if the participant agrees. The record also describes partner demographic, burden and satisfaction data. These details show why the role can involve more than transport or moral support. Ask which activities apply in the protocol you are considering.
What information and choices does each person receive?
Ask how the participant and partner are informed, whether each gives an agreement for their own activities and what information is collected about each. Clarify private questions and who receives replies. A partner role is not automatically legal representation. The participant’s permission for a particular activity is not unlimited permission to access clinical records.
How much time and responsibility is involved?
Request the partner’s own calendar, not just the participant’s appointment list. Ask about observations between visits, questionnaires, travel, remote contacts and the support offered. The example record has its own therapy and assessment schedule; it is not a standard partner workload. Clarify what happens if a task cannot be completed rather than promising availability you cannot sustain.
What can the partner access or decide?
Ask separately about receiving appointment information, sharing observations and accessing results or records. Determine the permitted scope of each and the study’s process for changing it. Do not confuse a protocol role with being someone’s clinician or legally authorised representative. Both people should know whom to contact when their preferences or privacy needs differ.
What if the partner cannot continue?
Contact the team about options, any possible replacement process and implications for the participant. Do not assume replacement is always allowed, continued eligibility is guaranteed or the participant must automatically leave. Keep practical questions separate from decisions that need clinical or legal expertise. Request a written account of the agreed next step for both people.