Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds Across the globe millions of people are living with disease from acute illness to chronic lifelong conditions. From the moment we are born to the day we die we are reliant on access to health care and to life-improving and life-saving treatments. But how do we know how to best treat an individual or how we might prevent disease? How do we decide what really works and what doesn’t? More than 70 years ago a landmark clinical trial was conducted by British scientists looking for an effective treatment for tuberculosis. It was the first study to randomly allocate patients to different treatment groups, enabling a fairer comparison than previous studies. This was the birth of the randomised controlled trial.
Skip to 0 minutes and 58 seconds Since that defining moment, evidence from such trials has enabled a vast number of ineffective treatments to be replaced with a smaller number of effective ones in numerous different diseases and populations. Randomised controlled trials are now widely accepted as the best study design to tell us what works and what doesn’t. And drive important decisions about which treatments and interventions should be endorsed. . Many researchers and scientists around the world work within trials dedicated to discovering solutions to the major burdens of disease and the promotion of health. They enable us to consider such questions as how can more of us survive cancer? How can we best reduce obesity? How can we provide effective care for an ageing population?
Skip to 1 minute and 51 seconds But these trials must be well-designed, ethically sound, and delivered under a strict regulatory environment. The University of Birmingham hosts the Birmingham Centre for Clinical Trials, one of the leading centres in the UK for designing and implementing high-quality trials across a wide range of diseases and clinical settings. During this course, experts from this prominent Centre will take you through the lifecycle of the Randomised control trial from conception through to publication. It will provide you with an overview of the design, delivery, and interpretation of Randomised controlled trials and the impact of such studies on people’s lives.
Skip to 2 minutes and 33 seconds You will learn about the specialist roles of those involved in every step of the trial process and gain perspective on the importance of these individual inputs and the conduct of a successful trial. Whether you are interested in becoming a part of this exciting workforce or you already work within trials but wish to gain a broader knowledge, this is the course for you.
