In the spring of 2024, an invitation was sent to researchers to participate in an evaluation of Clinicum’s method support. Of all those who used the support, 7/10 were very satisfied and 9/10 would recommend it to a colleague. Some of the reasons for the satisfaction were that many people refer to a high level of competence and pedagogical ability of the methodological advisers, as well as the possibility of getting help quickly. Helpfulness, friendliness, and flexibility are also highlighted.
How the survey was conducted
The researchers who participated in the survey had used methodological support between September 2023 – March 2024. The invitation was sent to 134 researchers who applied for support via the application form linked to Clinicum’s central function or via Clinicum Nod Solna’s application form. The ambition is to facilitate things for the researchers, and to make it easier for them to get help and find Clinicum.
Foto: Privat
Meet Pontus Andell, specialist in cardiology, who used Clinicum’s advisory support
Pontus Andell is doing research in cardiovascular prevention, with lifestyle changes such as physical activity in focus. In a current study, he is studying the effect of daily stair training to better control blood pressure in inactive obese individuals. Pontus was tipped off about Clinicum via a colleague, and then got in touch with one of Clinicum’s advisors who suggested a physical meeting at MEB where the study and its setup could be discussed with him. This is what he says about the experiences with Clinicum’s advisory support:
“The adviser had read the research program carefully and came up with very good ideas, both from a statistical point of view but also generally regarding the research methodology. You could tell he had a lot of experience working with clinical trials, and therefore it felt very valuable to get his input.”
After the first session, six months passed as Pontus and his team had a chance to work further on the study protocol with the advisor’s views in mind. A new closing meeting was then scheduled where the advisor had the chance to read the preliminary study protocol, followed by a further productive discussion on how the study could be as good as possible.
“Clinicum’s support has been a very valuable element that complemented our research methodology well. Since I am relatively new to the industry with clinical trials, I am very grateful for the support that Clinicum has been able to offer. The best thing about the advice has been the sense of security of being able to discuss important issues with experts. The alternative is that you make a lot of mistakes once you get started that might overturn an entire study with all that that entails.”
To think about when you apply for support
- Apply in time
- Fill out the application carefully
- Don’t hesitate to invite more people to the counseling session
As a basic rule, we cannot obtain practical support with data processing or statistical analyzes via CLINICUM. Researchers in need of longer-term support are encouraged to turn to the Biostatistics Core (Department for Biostatistics, IMM), or MedStat (LIME) or one of KI’s procured statistics providers.
