Abstract
Despite widespread agreement about the value of clinical trials, the proportion of
patients who are enrolled in such trials is often considered to be too low. A comprehensive
literature search was carried out for the period 1980 to the present, in order to
review current data on barriers and facilitators to the development of multicentre
clinical trials. Of 364 articles initially identified, 35 articles and 1 book were
selected in order to assess the reasons that doctors and/or patients participate in
clinical trials. This review emphasises the fact that doctors play a key role in the
development and non-development of clinical trials. More studies, in particular studies
outside the United States of America (USA), are needed in order better to understand
doctors’ attitudes towards clinical trials. Such studies should combine multivariate
analyses and comparative approaches in order to associate doctors’ behaviours with
their individual characteristics, with the organisational context of their working
environment and with the healthcare system.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 21,
2005
Received in revised form:
October 20,
2005
Received:
September 19,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
