Personality Profiles
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the personality profile of healthy volunteers who take part in early phase clinical trials in the UK: A pilot study
IRAS ID
195892
Contact name
Lynne Macrae
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
The early stages of drug development focus on gaining knowledge about the suitability of a novel compound and collecting information regarding its pharmacokinetic properties. Therefore, healthy volunteers rather than patients usually receive the new drug in early phase clinical trials in order to evaluate pharmacokinetics and investigate pharmacodynamics without the interference of pre-existing pathological conditions.
Healthy volunteers who participate in clinical trials often come from a variety of backgrounds and may exhibit different type of personality characteristics. Previous studies have shown that people who exhibit sensation seeking behavior, disinhibition, impulsivity and extroversion or sociability are more likely to take part in clinical trials as part of a risky behavior pattern.
This proposed pilot study will aim to explore and understand which personality traits are most commonly found in healthy volunteers taking part in early phase clinical trials. Understanding these could have an effect on some trial designs and could in turn, affect suitability of recruiting certain groups of volunteers to trials. Furthermore, it can potentially improve participant safety through improved reporting and participation in trials.REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SW/0107
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion