CONSENT FOR CLINICAL TRIALS IN PSYCHIATRY: RESULTS OF A POPULATION SURVEY

AbstractWith the collaboration of the Sofres Polling Institute, a 2 step population survey was conducted. During the first phase, 10 00 households, representative of the French population, were mailed a brief questionnaire. The purpose of this questionnaire was to identify patients regularly receiving psychotropic drugs who were divided into two subgroups : those followed by a general practitioner, and those followed by a specialist. A third group of subjects was comprised of individuals who were not receiving, nor had received any medication for the last six months. A fourth study group of hospitalized psychiatric patients, was also established.In the second phase of the study a total of 958 subjects, divided into the four aforementioned subgroups, received a detailed questionnaire; 712 of these subjects responded.From these respondents, study results indicate that: a mean of 50 % of the general population and 70 % of hospitalized patients are willing to participate in clinical studies. The requirement f...