Research
Research at AtlantiCare
At AtlantiCare, we strive to improve the health and well-being of our community through integrated clinical practice, education and research. Our research effort stems from years of dedication in bringing clinical research trials to our patients.
A patient’s participation in clinical research is a valuable contribution to medical science and our community. It is the essential road to discovery of new and better healthcare, and it is the way that doctors and researchers translate new knowledge into safe and effective practices and procedures in medicine and surgery.
Clinical Trials
What is clinical research and why do people participate?
Clinical research is medical research that involves people like you. When you volunteer to take part in clinical research, you help doctors and researchers learn more about disease and improve health care for people in the future. Clinical research includes all research that involves people. Types of clinical research include:
- Clinical trials, which evaluate the effects of an intervention on health outcomes.
- Behavioral, which improves the understanding of human behavior and how it relates to health and disease.
- Epidemiology, which improves the understanding of a disease by studying patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease in specific groups.
What are clinical trials and why would I want to take part?
Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect or treat disease. Clinical trials can study:
- New drugs or new combinations of drugs
- New ways of doing surgery
- New medical devices
- New ways to use existing treatments
- New ways to change behavior to improve health
- New ways to improve the quality of life for people with acute or chronic illnesses
The goal of clinical trials is to determine if these treatment, prevention, and behavior approaches are safe and effective. People take part in clinical trials for many reasons. Healthy volunteers say they take part to help others and to contribute to moving science forward. People with an illness or disease also take part to help others, but also to possibly receive the newest treatment and to have the additional care and attention from the clinical trial staff. Clinical trials offer hope for many people and a chance to help researchers find better treatments for others in the future.