Meeting

Building and maintaining the public's trust is essential to the success of the clinical research enterprise. Despite the public's general support of clinical research, there are occasional breakdowns in the system that undercut this support and confidence. Additionally, the recent success of biomedical science and the doubling of the NIH budget have raised public expectation regarding new treatments for medical conditions. To contribute to the discussion of how to better involve the public in the research enterprise, the Institute of Medicine’s Clinical Research Roundtable held a workshop entitled Exploring New Models for Engaging the Public in the Clinical Research Enterprise on November 5, 2002.

The goal of this workshop was to identify new solutions and highlight model programs that make both research and the research oversight process more transparent and open to public input. The first session explored the concept of patient-centered clinical research. The second session highlighted model collaborations between community/disease advocates, researchers, and sponsors. The third session focused on ways of involving community/public members in the research oversight process. The final session focused on ways to improve the current system.