Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36944466›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

Public reporting of clinical trial findings as an ethical responsibility to participants: a qualitative study.

Richard L Morrow, Barbara Mintzes, Garry Gray, Michael R Law, Scott Garrison, Colin R Dormuth

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Richard L MorrowSchool of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada richard.morrow@ubc.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-5869-5197
Barbara MintzesFaculty of Pharmacy and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8671-915X
Garry GrayDepartment of Sociology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Michael R LawCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Scott GarrisonFamily Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-7024-2158
Colin R DormuthAnaesthesiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics, Therapeutics Initiative, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo understand how the experiences and views of trial participants, trial investigators and others connected to clinical trial research relate to whether researchers have a duty to participants to publicly report research findings.

designQualitative interview study.

settingSemistructured interviews held in person or by telephone between March 2019 and April 2021 with participants in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

participants34 participants, including 10 clinical trial participants, 17 clinical trial investigators, 1 clinical research coordinator, 3 research administrators and 3 research ethics board members. ANALYSIS: We conducted a thematic analysis, including qualitative coding of interview transcripts and identification of key themes.

main outcome measuresKey themes identified through qualitative coding of interview data.

resultsMost clinical trial participants felt that reporting clinical trial results is important. Accounts of trial participants suggest their contributions are part of a reciprocal relationship involving the expectation that research will advance medical knowledge. Similarly, comments from trial investigators suggest that reporting trial results is part of reciprocity with trial participants and is a necessary part of honouring informed consent. Accounts of trial investigators suggest that when drug trials are not reported, this may undermine informed consent in subsequent trials by withholding information on harms or efficacy relevant to informed decisions on whether to conduct or enroll in future trials of similar drugs.

conclusionThe views of trial participants, trial investigators and others connected to clinical trial research in Canada suggest that researchers have an obligation to participants to publicly report clinical trial results and that reporting results is necessary for honouring informed consent.

Indexed as

Health Services ResearchInformed ConsentAlbertaClinical Trials as TopicEthics, ResearchHumansQualitative ResearchClinical trialsETHICS (see Medical Ethics)QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Identifiers

PMID36944466
PMCPMC10032397

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.