Survey: Confusion over key requirements means clinical trials aren’t registered and results aren’t reported

More than half of those responsible for registering clinical trials and reporting results fail to do so over confusion about key requirements, according to a new survey that highlighted ongoing difficulties in achieving transparency surrounding study data.

Specifically, 52% said their major challenges involved sorting out the types of clinical trials that must be registered, when a trial should be registered, and when and for which trials information from summary results must be submitted to a U.S. government database. Nearly 48% also pointed to principal trial investigators who fail to respond to the requirements.

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Similar findings were disclosed for reporting trial results, with 56% saying there was confusion about which results must be submitted and 51% uncertain about regulatory timelines for providing this information. And 49% expressed uncertainty about when to report results information for unsuccessful trials, while 44% pointed to unresponsive principal investigators.

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