Your Study is Terminated: Researchers Need to Prepare Participants

Imagine that you’re a participant in a research study in which a device is implanted in your brain. The study is testing whether the device can do something beneficial, like relieve depression or cognitive impairment. But the study is abruptly terminated. What happens to you? What ought to happen? Should the device be removed? Who should do that?

These are not hypothetical questions. National Institutes of Health funding cuts have affected more than 74,000 people enrolled in biomedical research, a new study found. Through June of this year, NIH canceled over 2,600 biomedical grants, totaling nearly $9 billion. And the NIH director has called for a review of existing grants to ensure they are in alignment with federal priorities. This means that any study can be terminated at any time, which is unprecedented in the history of U.S. research.

But when this happens, researchers have no protocols for communicating with and supporting research participants, even though they can be left vulnerable and potentially harmed. For example, termination of studies of new contraception methods or cognitive behavior therapy for