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You are not allowed to take part (in a study) if you do not have a trial partner/caregiver who is close to you; sees you at least 3 days each week for a minimum of 6 hours each week while you are awake;

What does "trial partner" mean in this context?

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    The "trial" probably refers to the study, which is also known as a trial (of a medication, therapy, or some other sort of medical regimen being studied).
    – Robusto
    Mar 16, 2013 at 12:37

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It means a partner for the trial: to help the subject take part in it and presumably to help ensure that there are no ill effects from taking part and to report or corroborate them if there are.

It's unfortunate wording. A trial run is an exercise to test something when it is done in earnest; a trial partner could easily mean that the partnership is under test. Given the context of a medical study or trial, that meaning is unlikely (and could be positively dangerous — the subject needs to be absolutely certain that their partner is reliable).

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    That is correct. It is fairly common wording for clinical trials. Usually the mention is something along the lines of a "competent trial partner" or a "reliable trial partner".
    – Bart
    Mar 16, 2013 at 12:46
  • Thank you for the help. So it is not a spouse or a legally accepted partner for life other than wife/husband. Because this is what I was also contemplating.
    – Robert Mikle MD.
    Mar 16, 2013 at 13:05
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    Now that gives an entirely new meaning to "trial partner" I hadn't thought of. It must be my cloistered life.
    – St John of the Cross
    Mar 16, 2013 at 13:08
  • @RobertMikleMD. The meaning (from my understanding) will be something along the lines of "Is there someone with you a significant amount of time for the duration of the trial who can keep an eye on things". I.e. we don't want participants to be completely on their own.
    – Bart
    Mar 16, 2013 at 13:32
  • Thanks, completely agree with you, I just can not give it back with a simple phrase in my mother tongue. Is there any English synonym for that, i.e. trial help or study-related person at hand, etc.?
    – Robert Mikle MD.
    Mar 16, 2013 at 13:52

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