Clinical trial
In Trial design & structure
Also known as: clinical study, interventional study
A clinical trial is a research study in which people are assigned to an intervention according to a plan, in order to evaluate its effects on health outcomes. The intervention can be a medicine, a device, a procedure, or a change in behavior or care. It differs from an observational study, where researchers watch what happens without assigning treatment.
Example
Randomly assigning patients to a new blood-pressure drug or to placebo is a clinical trial. Following a group of patients who chose the drug with their own doctor is an observational study.
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