Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research

Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more This course is designed for anyone who wants to know more about modern healthcare, and the role of clinical research and discovery within it. It will be of special interest to: students at school or college; undergraduates or postgraduates who are contemplating a career in healthcare or the life sciences; and health and social care professionals and practitioners who want to find out more about the role of clinical research in improving healthcare. This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. By completing the course you will have achieved 16 hours of CPD time. No previous knowledge is needed to take this course. You can use the hashtag #FLclinical to talk about this course on social media.

Topics Covered

• The fundamental principles of the scientific process, and their importance in ensuring that clinical research delivers accurate information and answers.
• The origins of clinical trials, and how an understanding of how to conduct clinical research has developed over time.
• How modern clinical trials are conducted, the importance of minimising bias, and the role of techniques such as randomisation and control, and placebos and blinding.
• The impact of the digital revolution and big data on how clinical trials are conducted, and the opportunities and challenges these present.
• The importance of ensuring that clinical research is ethical and the key principles that are essential to ensuring that clinical trials are set up and conducted in an ethically sound manner.
• The role that respect has to play in clinical research and how we can ensure that research is carried out in a way that is respectful to participants.
• How clinical research is regulated in the United Kingdom and internationally.
• The importance of informed consent, the key concepts associated with gaining valid consent from research participants, and the process for gaining informed consent.
• How the results of research are put into practice. How the results of research are reported and communicated to the wider world, and the importance of analysing critically media reporting of clinical research.
• The ways in which clinical research is funded.
• Future directions, opportunities and challenges for clinical research.