Exploring the Boundaries of Experimental Medicine and Routine Care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the Boundaries of Experimental Medicine and Routine Care: A Rapid Qualitative Study
IRAS ID
302524
Contact name
Cecilia Vindrola
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCLH/UCL
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2021/08/60 health research, UCL Data Protection Office
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research Summary:
Recent evidence has pointed to the fact that research-active hospitals have better patient outcomes and patients report feeling more confidence in staff and feeling better informed in relation to their treatment. Previous research has explored the ethics of medical experimentation and the distinction between experimentation and routine care. A common distinction between these different practices has been the association of experimentation with research. Research can involve dimensions of care in the therapeutic sense, and it can also contribute to the development of new ways of caring. It becomes impossible to distinguish between experimentation and treatment as changes in the content, meaning and boundaries of both processes are inextricable interlinked.
Experimentation is a central component of biomedicine, yet the everyday practices involved in experimentation and the constant negotiation of the boundaries between routine and experimental care remain unexplored areas of research. This study will help researchers and policymakers understand the boundaries of experimental medicine and routine clinical care.
The aims of this study are to explore:
1. the processes of delivering experimental care,
2. the interaction with routine care, and
3. the negotiation of their boundaries.The study will have the following objectives:
1. to explore the conceptualisation of experimental and routine care,
2. to identify the structures and processes involved in experimental care, and
3. to explore the negotiation of boundaries between experimental and routine care.Research questions
1. How are experimental and routine care conceptualised?
2. When does care stop being experimental and start being routine care?
3. What are the structures and processes involved in experimental care?Summary of results:
Unfortunately, we did not meet our recruitment targets and so we did not carry out any formal analysis and did not produce or disseminate results.REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/HRA/0117
Date of REC Opinion
26 May 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion