The World Health Organization (WHO) has released an online course for clinical trial good practices.
The self‑paced course translates the ‘WHO Guidance for Best Practices for Clinical Trials’ into practical, applied learning for those involved in clinical trials. The establishment of the course is in response to requests from WHO Member States to strengthen capacity for clinical trials and improve research quality, coordination and preparedness for public health emergencies.
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By making this course freely available online, WHO aims to reduce barriers to high‑quality clinical trials education and support countries in building sustainable research capacity aligned with national and global health priorities.
The course content is based on WHO’s 2024 guidance, and emphasises real‑world decision‑making, addressing common challenges in trial design, conduct and oversight, including participant protection, ethical review, community engagement, operational feasibility and relevance to public health needs.
The course is currently available in English, but the WHO said that other language versions of the course are planned to be rolled out in the coming years.
Mithun Mohan George, project manager at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Canada, said: “The course successfully bridges the gap between ethical theory and operational reality, giving me the professional edge to ensure our trials are both robust and participant-centred. I have already started implementing key lessons in my monitoring plan documents and would definitely recommend this course to all those who are looking to make clinical research practices better.”
In the 2024 guidance, one major recommendation was digitalisation and the use of electronic records, as research currently lags behind clinical care in this area. The guidance encourages a shift towards fully digitalised clinical trial processes and data management. There are a number of issues with moving to a fully digital approach, one being the number of systems available, meaning sites may have to work between multiple systems when conducting studies. Other issues include the availability and speed of tech support during patient visits and the necessity for training when systems are implemented.
The WHO’s trial direction focuses on several key areas, including global “research waste” and diversity in clinical trials, with the guidance going beyond race, gender and sexuality.
