How to join a clinical trial
To explore joining a clinical trial, find a potentially relevant study, check its official record and contact the local research team. Ask about screening, consent, practical commitments and effects on usual care before deciding. Expressing interest is not enrolment: the team confirms eligibility, and you can take time to consider the information.
https://www.hopestage.com/research/learn/how-to-join-a-clinical-trial
Key takeaways
- Use public criteria to identify possibilities, not to decide your own eligibility.
- Confirm whether your local site is recruiting.
- Ask how screening and consent work before any research procedures.
- You can ask questions, decline, or discuss leaving later.
On this page
1. Find potentially relevant studies
Start with your condition or interest, country, location and recruiting status. Consider travel, language, accessibility and available time. You can explore information without committing to a study.
2. Verify the record and local site
Open the official source and note the study identifier. Check the local site and contact rather than assuming an overall recruitment label means every site has places. Public inclusion and exclusion criteria help you prepare questions; they do not establish personal eligibility.
3. Check the practical fit and usual care
Ask about visit length, travel, remote options, costs, privacy and any proposed effect on current medication or therapy. Your healthcare team or a chosen supporter can help you think it through, but talking to them is not a universal prerequisite for asking researchers a question.
Do not change medication or other care to qualify on the basis of a listing. Discuss any proposed changes with the research team and the clinician responsible for your care.
4. Contact the research team
Use a verified contact and the study identifier. Ask whether the local site is recruiting, how initial contact works and where to read the participant information sheet. A first enquiry is a request for information, not enrolment.
A first-contact email you can adapt
Use only non-sensitive placeholders. Do not attach full medical records or describe your medical history in an unsolicited first email.
Subject: Question about study [study identifier] at [local site] Hello, I would like information about this study. Is your local site currently recruiting? How does screening work, and where can I read the participant information sheet? Who should I contact to discuss the visits, usual care, possible risks and costs? Thank you.
5. Understand screening and consent
Ask the team to explain the actual order of preliminary contact, screening and consent. A general conversation may happen first. Procedures undertaken specifically for research eligibility need appropriate consent; screening must not be presented as permission to perform research without it.
Consent is an understandable, ongoing discussion of the purpose, procedures, uncertainties, possible risks, rights and alternatives. Request information in a format you can use and ask for time to think.
6. Take time to decide
Ask unanswered questions and decide whether the commitments fit your circumstances. The team confirms eligibility; you decide whether to participate. Contributing to research can matter to you without making this particular study the right choice. HopeStage provides information and possible connections, not an eligibility assessment.
Before you contact the team
- Keep the study identifier and verified contact.
- Confirm the local recruitment status.
- List questions about visits, care, accessibility, costs and privacy.
- Request the participant information sheet and screening explanation.
- Decide what information you are comfortable sharing through the verified process.
Questions and answers
Do I need a referral?
Requirements vary. Ask the local research team whether a referral or information from a clinician is needed for this study.
Can I know I am eligible from the public criteria?
No. They are an initial guide. The research team checks the applicable criteria and explains screening.
Is screening always before consent?
No single sequence applies. Preliminary conversations and research screening are different; the team must explain and obtain the appropriate consent for research procedures.
Will I be paid?
Some studies offer payment, reimbursement, both or neither. Confirm screening, travel and withdrawal terms in the study information.
Can I say no or leave?
Yes. Participation is voluntary. If leaving, ask how procedures should stop, what follow-up is advised and what happens to existing data.
Explore the current directory
Availability changes. Confirm local recruitment and eligibility with the research team. A directory listing does not establish payment or suitability.
Find a mental health clinical trial