Why do women volunteer to participate in clinical studies?

The purpose of this study was to determine why young women volunteer to participate in clinical studies. Questionnaires were sent to 126 healthy fertile women, who during 1 year had undertaken contraceptive pill trials in the Reproductive Medicine Unit, of the University Hospital of South Manchester. An 85% response rate was obtained. Most of these women worked, were married and had children. Study recruitment was most effective by 'word of mouth', posters within the hospital not attracting many volunteers. They volunteered to take part because of the perceived financial gain from 'reasonable expenses' payable. Only 11.2% expressed a desire to assist in medical research or have their own health checked. The sex of the study investigator was not crucial to their participation; 94.4% were willing to participate in future pill trials. Therefore, when planning a clinical study requiring healthy volunteers, reasonable expenses are an essential compensation to aid the recruitment process.