A
What is ResearchMatch?
B
Who approves research at Baystate Medical Center?
C
How can I access ResearchMatch?
D
What is the main goal of ResearchMatch?
E
Why might ResearchMatch appeal to the public?
F
Who funded the development of ResearchMatch?
G
How does ResearchMatch protect personal information?
H
What does it cost to join ResearchMatch?
I
Who can join as a ResearchMatch Volunteer?
J
What if I do not have a health condition – can I still join?
K
What if a Volunteer changes their mind about getting involved?
L
Is ResearchMatch only for clinical trials?
M
What if I wish to volunteer but do not see any institutions in my area?
N
How can an institution participate?
O
Who is involved?
P
What if I have additional questions?
A
What is ResearchMatch?
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ResearchMatch is a not-for-profit effort that brings together researchers and people who are willing to learn more about research studies in a secure and convenient manner.
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A Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Consortium activity to develop the first not-for-profit national, disease-neutral, centralized web-based volunteer recruitment registry that will connect individuals who wish to participate in research with eligible researchers nationwide.
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B
Who approves research at Baystate Medical Center?
No research involving the use of human subjects may be undertaken without first being reviewed and approved by the Baystate Medical Center's Human Research Protection Program.
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C
How can I access ResearchMatch?
Visit www.researchmatch.org
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D
What is the main goal of ResearchMatch?
ResearchMatch has a simple goal – to bring together two groups of people who are looking for one another: (1) people who are trying to find research studies, and (2) researchers who are looking for people to participate in their studies. It is a free and secure registry that has been developed by major academic institutions across the country who want to involve you in the mission of helping today’s studies make a real difference for everyone’s health in the future.
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E
Why might ResearchMatch appeal to the public?
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The public is significantly interested in finding clinical research studies and regularly uses the internet to search for research opportunities
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ClinicalTrials.gov reports over 40 million page views per month (50,000 visitors daily)[1
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The public is not always aware of their options for participating in research[2]
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Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) internet users overall have searched online for experimental treatments or medicines,[3] with a new diagnosis (especially a serious condition) further motivating such actions[4]
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Employs popular and thus familiar ‘matching’ model (e.g. VolunteerMatch.org)
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Convenient and easy - relieves burden of responsibility for searching for the right study from the volunteer
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Promotes volunteer choice – no obligations to participate in studies
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It is available for anyone & everyone (disease-neutral site – healthy volunteers are welcome
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Communicates to taxpayers & legislators a feature of the CTSA that has potential to benefit public health
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Patient recruitment continues to be a major barrier to the completion of research studies nationwide
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Offers a Call to Action – visit the site and consider joining as a ResearchMatch Volunteer!
[1] http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/info/about
[2] Lara PN Jr, Paterniti DA, Chiechi C, Turrell C, Morain C, Horan N, Montell L, Gonzalez J, Davis S, Umutyan A, Martel CL, Gandara DR, Wun T, Beckett LA, Chen MS Jr. Evaluation of factors affecting awareness of and willingness to participate in cancer clinical trials. J Clin Oncol. 2005 Dec 20;23(36):9282-9.
[4] Bass SB, Ruzek SB, Gordon TF, Fleisher L, McKeown-Conn N, Moore D. Relationship of Internet health information use with patient behavior and self-efficacy: experiences of newly diagnosed cancer patients who contact the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service. J Health Commun. 2006 Mar;11(2):219-36.
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F
Who funded the development of ResearchMatch?
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) – a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA).
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G
How does ResearchMatch protect personal information?
ResearchMatch is a secure, central database that will store your information if you wish to be matched with research studies, now or in the future. All ResearchMatch data that is sent between the web server and browsers will be coded (encrypted) using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protection. Another protection is that ResearchMatch will not release a Volunteer’s personal contact information until they have give permission for that release. Also, the ResearchMatch tool is overseen by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Please see the ResearchMatch Privacy Statement for more information.
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H
What does it cost to join ResearchMatch?
ResearchMatch is a not-for-profit activity and is free to join.
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I
Who can join as a ResearchMatch Volunteer?
Currently, anyone from the United States can join ResearchMatch. All ages and backgrounds are welcome to consider joining as a ResearchMatch Volunteer. A parent, legal guardian or caretaker may register someone under the age of 19 or an adult that may not be able to enter in their own information.
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J
What if I do not have a health condition – can I still join?
Healthy volunteers are absolutely vital to research and everyone who may be interested is encouraged to join.
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K
What if a Volunteer changes their mind about getting involved?
A ResearchMatch Volunteer may easily update or change their status in ResearchMatch at any time. Any Volunteer may remove their profile from the registry at any time.
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L
Is ResearchMatch only for clinical trials?
No, ResearchMatch is available to help match any type of IRB-approved study with ResearchMatch Volunteers.
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M
What if I wish to volunteer but do not see any institutions in my area?
ResearchMatch can help match individuals with any type of approved study. Some studies may not require travel so you can still support the cause of research by joining even if traveling is not currently an option. Also, ResearchMatch will be working with the NIH to show areas that may have a number of Volunteers but not enough researchers in their area. This may help direct where research can take place in the future! The Volunteers help inform ResearchMatch where research could be taking place. Also, ResearchMatch will be starting to collaborate with non-CTSA institutions in the future so while there may not be a participating site within driving distance from your home, this may change.
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N
How can an institution participate?
Currently, invitations to voluntarily participate in ResearchMatch are limited to only those sites that have been awarded and are affiliated with the 46-member Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Consortium. Within the CTSA Consortium 39 sites out of 46 are currently participating. These sites have had at least one institution within their CTSA sign the formal ResearchMatch agreement that outlines rules and regulations to protect the integrity of this resource for both researchers and the volunteers.
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O
Who is involved?
The following 39 CTSA sites have had at least 1 institution within their CTSA sign the official ResearchMatch agreement.
*Participating CTSA Sites
CTSA + Individual Institutional Sites
There are 51 institutions from 39 separate CTSA sites that are officially part of the ResearchMatch.org Network.
Please visit the ResearchMatch Network page to view a full listing of participating sites and their affiliated CTSA organization.
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P
What if I have additional questions?
Please contact the Program Manager of ResearchMatch at info@researchmatch.org or by phone at 615.343.3715, or contact the Baystate Human Research Protection Program at 413.794.7671.
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