Clinical features of Parkinson’s disease patients are associated with therapeutic misconception and willingness to participate in clinical trials

Table 3 General knowledge of clinical trials

Statements	Right		Wrong
Statements	n	%	n	%
I know what a CT means	331	50	329	50
Each new drug has been studied in patients before it becomes available via pharmacies	482	72	188	28
CTs are always assessed beforehand by a research ethics committee	312	47	349	53
Participation in a CT is always voluntary	623	93	45	7
A potential CT participant signs a consent document before taking part in the research	560	83	112	17
The research participant may at any point stop their participation in the CT	518	77	152	23
A CT may include procedures different from standard care	303	46	360	54
Clinical trials are mostly funded by a pharmaceutical corporation	424	64	241	36
The essential goal of CTs is to find better treatment for future patients	633	94	37	6
*Clinical trials are usually aimed primarily at seeking the best medication for the research participants	145	22	523	78
*In CTs, all participants always receive a new effective agent	298	45	732	55
Different treatment procedures can be assigned randomly in CTs (for example, by flipping a coin or via other methods of randomization)	236	36	427	64
*In CTs, the physician conducting the research is aware of whether the participant is receiving a new drug, a placebo (which does not include an effective agent), or standard PD medication	112	21	523	79
*In CTs, the physician conducting the research may choose which drug the participant receives	193	29	474	71
*Often, the patient participating in the research may choose which drug they receive	401	60	265	40

The “Right” category encompasses the “agree” and “strongly agree” responses; the “Wrong” category is a combination of “disagree,” “strongly disagree,” and “cannot say.” For starred (incorrect) items, the “Right” category was composed of “disagree” and “strongly disagree” responses and the “Wrong” category covered “agree,” “strongly agree,” and “cannot say.” CT clinical trial