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Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit

The Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit (PCTU) leads and supports clinical trials in which the primary question of interest relates to intervention effectiveness: whether an intervention works under real-life conditions.

At present the unit focuses on trials of complex interventions, and on trials designed to understand processes explaining effectiveness. It also leads methodological research relevant to its focus and supports a small number of other pragmatic trials.

Support, prior to submitting a funding application, is available free of charge. Support by the PCTU for funded projects has cost implications that must be negotiated before funding is obtained. Priority is given to those applying for funding under the NETSCC umbrella (NIHR, HTA, Public Health, Service Delivery and Organisation, Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation and Health Services programmes).

How can the PCTU help?

Areas in which the PCTU can support trials are:-      

(i) At the funding application development stage:

• Statistical advice about:
  • sample size calculation
  • statistical analysis plan
  • trial design
• Other, field-specific advice about:
  • health economics analysis
  • data management
  • quality assurance

(ii) At the set-up stage and during trials:

• Randomisation service
• Statistics service
• Data management
• Quality assurance
• Health economics
• Administrative support

Contacting the PCTU

For further details please see the PCTU website.

If you have any queries please contact the unit administrator, Nancy Schumann at n.schumann@qmul.ac.uk.