Have you shared the outcomes of your clinical trial with the people who took part?
Did you know this will be a legal requirement as of April 2026?
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Participant in Research Experience Survey 2023-24 found that over a quarter (27%) of participants didn’t know when they would receive the results of the research they had taken part in. This is an increase from the previous year.
The UK Policy Framework for Health and Social care research states that you should share the results of your research with participants at the end of your study.
We also expect the findings of research to be communicated to participants as part of our ethics review, which appropriately respects the contribution they’ve made.
However, we know that this is often overlooked, which can lead to participants feeling undervalued and discouraged from taking part again in the future.
Plus, things will be changing.
We’ve been working with the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on the most significant overhaul of clinical trials legislation in two decades.
The new Clinical Trials regulations will come into effect in April 2026, and change our current policy expectations into legal requirements.
Join the webinar
We are holding an online event on Thursday 2 October to support researchers to provide good quality feedback to participants, give clarity on the new regulations, and to understand the perceived barriers to sharing results.
The webinar will be from 2pm to 4pm, and is for researchers, research sponsors, chief investigators, or anyone involved in planning or conducting research.
We will be joined by guest speakers from the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London (UCL) and the NIHR to cover:
- the perceived barriers to feeding back to participants and how to overcome these
- the key principles of feeding back to participants, and clarity on HRA approvals requirements
- a case study example of what good participant feedback looks like
- what you need to know about the research transparency changes to the new clinical trials regulations that will come into effect in April 2026
Register for the event via Eventbrite.
This event is part of our Make it Public campaign for research transparency.
Find out how we work with people and organisations across the research community to champion research transparency across the sector.
Research transparency is crucial to ethical research practice
When research is carried out openly, everyone can see what studies are underway and what past studies found.
This means that people can find opportunities to join, researchers can build on earlier findings to develop better treatments, and everyone can use robust results to make informed decisions.
Our vision is that together, we can make trusted information available to all.
Read our guidance for researchers on sharing results with participants.