This population-based survey was conducted in 2006, just prior to widespread availability of trial results through local media outlets.
We conducted a comprehensive search of various sources for supplemental study information and believe that the low yield was not due to insufficient searching but to a lack of availability of trial protocols and the inherent difficulties in searches of the grey literature.
Researchers initiating randomized controlled trials should register trials to ensure the availability of trial results, independently of their full publication.
However, availability of trial resources and school burden must be considered when designing process evaluation methods [ 13].
46 Public availability of trial protocols and submissions to regulatory agencies is also necessary to ensure transparent reporting of study methods.
1 Several countries, such as the USA, EU, Canada and Japan, as well as the WHO have implemented measures to redress the lack of availability of trial results.
Specific objectives were to examine: 1) methodological quality, including ROB, and its association with effect estimates; 2) the rate of trial registration and author reasons for registration and non-registration; and, 3) availability of trial protocols and their consistency with publications.
Most elderly people, who responded to this survey, are willing to consider participation in cancer clinical trials however, elderly patients do not appear to actively seek clinical trials and few were informed of the availability of clinical trials.
However few older cancer patients were informed of the availability of clinical trials nor were they active in seeking the availability of clinical trials.
Meta-analyses depend upon the availability of published trials, and in this topical area that is increasing in profile, only two trials were available.
