Abstract
ObjectivesEvaluate current data sharing activities of UK publicly funded Clinical Trial Units (CTUs) and identify good practices and barriers. Study Design and SettingWeb-based survey of Directors of 45 UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC)–registered CTUs. ResultsTwenty-three (51%) CTUs responded: Five (22%) of these had an established data sharing policy and eight (35%) specifically requested consent to use patient data beyond the scope of the original trial. Fifteen (65%) CTUs had received requests for data, and seven (30%) had made external requests for data in the previous 12 months. CTUs supported the need for increased data sharing activities although concerns were raised about patient identification, misuse of data, and financial burden. Custodianship of clinical trial data and requirements for a CTU to align its policy to their parent institutes were also raised. No CTUs supported the use of an open access model for data sharing. ConclusionThere is support within the publicly funded UKCRC-registered CTUs for data sharing, but many perceived barriers remain. CTUs are currently using a variety of approaches and procedures for sharing data. This survey has informed further work, including development of guidance for publicly funded CTUs, to promote good practice and facilitate data sharing.
Highlights
Conflict of interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare: no support from any organization for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years, and no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work
This study has demonstrated that there is general support for clinical trial data sharing among publicly funded Clinical Trial Units (CTUs)
There were 24 responses from 23 (51%) registered CTUs across the United Kingdom
Summary
Evaluate current data sharing activities of UK publicly funded Clinical Trial Units (CTUs) and identify good practices and barriers
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have