Research & Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials in Monterey County

Salinas Valley Health is dedicated to improving patient health and care. Our Clinical Research Program provides our physicians and their patients with access to progressive forms of treatment to help with improving diagnosis and treatment.

As a consented research subject, you can participate in the management of your disease while contributing to knowledge about it. Enrolling in a clinical research trial allows you to:

Get regular and careful medical attention from a physician-led research team
Gain access to promising new approaches in medical therapy
Have a positive effect on your health

Types of Research

Observational studies observe people in normal settings. Researchers gather information, group volunteers according to broad characteristics, and compare changes over time. For example, researchers may collect data through medical exams, tests, or questionnaires about a group of older adults over time to learn more about the effects of different lifestyles on cognitive health. These studies may help identify new possibilities for clinical trials.
Interventional Clinical trials are research studies performed in people that are aimed at evaluating a medical, surgical, or behavioral intervention. They are the primary way that researchers find out if a new treatment, like a new drug or medical device (for example, a pacemaker) is both safe and effective in people. Often a clinical trial is used to learn if a new treatment is more effective and/or has less harmful side effects than the standard treatment. Other clinical trials test ways to find a disease early, sometimes before there are symptoms. Still others test ways to prevent a health problem. A clinical trial may also look at how to make life better for people living with a life-threatening disease or a chronic health problem. Clinical trials sometimes study the role of caregivers or support groups.
Medical records research: Medical records research involves the use of information collected from medical records. By studying the medical records of large groups of people over long periods of time, researchers can see how diseases progress and which treatments and surgeries work best.
Visit the National Institute on Aging for general information on Clinical Trials & Studies. For Spanish, click HERE.
See a Glossary of Terms related to clinical studies, clinical trials and medical research on ClinicalTrials.gov

Salinas Valley Health Clinical Research Program

Salinas Valley Health is currently participating in several research studies, some of which are enrolling new patients. Participants are selected for each trial based on specific criteria such as age, gender, medical condition, and other factors.

We currently are enrolling patients in studies in

Cancer*
Cardiovascular
Diabetes
Stroke
And more

*Note: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) believes that the best management of any patient with cancer is in a clinical trial. Participation in clinical trials is especially encouraged.

Next Steps

If you or a family member are thinking about being in a research study, feel free to download one of our brochures:

Salinas Valley Health is looking for individuals to participate in clinical studies. Participating in clinical trials allows you to play an active role in studies on the nature and causes of many disorders, and to possibly help physician-scientists develop future treatments.

For questions and more information about our clinical trials and research, please email us at research@svmh.com.