Profile of clinical trials registered as a medical postgraduate research thesis, 2007 to 2019: Lessons for capacity building.

Abstract

Postgraduate (PG) research helps students develop the scientific and ethical principles in research and enhance their ability to generate novel information. Although the National Medical Council has made PG research mandatory, it is often criticized in terms of methodological flaws. Being the best study designs for generating evidence in health care, clinical trials have inherent challenges, including writing proposals, generating funds, and following ethical principles.[1] To implement successfully, the major responsibilities lie on the principal investigator(s). As a beginner in clinical trials, PGs often lack the required knowledge and skills to execute these mandates. As a part of the regulatory approaches, India launched the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI) in 2007 to ensure that all clinical trials conducted in India, including those conducted by the PGs, are prospectively registered with full disclosure of the trial data set items.[2] Analysis and characterization of these clinical trials undertaken by the PGs may help in identifying the areas in need of interventions. In this regard, we described the clinical trials registered as PG thesis (PG trials) by type, time, and location.