Should Volunteers in Studies Receive the Study Results

Summary: Many Americans voluntarily participate in clinical trials, from taking health surveys, to allowing analysis of their DNA, or even testing new medicines. Now some researchers are questioning whether they should share the results of the test with the volunteers, and if they should share the overall results, or just the results of the single volunteer.

Comment: There are many sides to the issue, including the ethics, privacy issues, and the financial problems of preparing the results for each individual person. Researchers are unsure, but may possibly study the outcomes of sharing results. They believe that there is a possibility for the NIH and local Institutional Review Boards to require communication plans as a part of each study.