Clinical research drives improvements in treatment, prevention, and care - and relies on people like you to get involved. Whether by joining a study or contributing through Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), you can help shape the future of healthcare. Clinical research is essential for discovering new treatments, improving how we manage health conditions and enhancing the quality of care people receive. It also helps us understand how to prevent illness in the first place - giving more people the chance to live longer, healthier lives.Behind every breakthrough are the thousands of volunteers - people just like you - who stepped forward to get involved.By joining a research study, you’re not only helping to shape the future of healthcare, you may also gain access to new treatments, closer monitoring, or simply the satisfaction of contributing to something bigger than yourself.You don't have to take part in a clinical trial to make a difference. Many research projects rely on Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) — where members of the public help shape how research is designed, carried out, and communicated. Take part in Our Future Health Our Future Health is the UK’s largest health research programme, aiming to recruit up to five million volunteers to help researchers prevent, detect and treat diseases earlier and more effectively. By combining health records, genetic data and other information, the programme builds a detailed picture of the nation’s health to drive new discoveries and innovations. Find out more on the Our Future Health website Take part in research The Scottish Health Research Register is a register of people aged 11 and over and living in Scotland who are interested in taking part in health research projects. Over 300,000 people have registered to join SHARE, and this number is growing each day.Health research can be anything from completing an online survey, testing a new medical device from home or testing a new medication for a condition you may have. You can choose what projects you want to participate in. Take part in research Be Part of Research is a free online service that helps people learn about health and social care research happening across the UK. It’s designed to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take part in research if they wish to.You can search for studies by condition, location, or keyword, and view a list of trials that may be relevant to you. Some studies may require a referral from your GP or specialist, so it’s a good idea to speak to them if you find a study you’re interested in. Help shape research Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is when members of the public take an active role in research - not just as participants, but as partners. Researchers and patients or members of the public work together to help shape how research is designed, carried out, and shared. This means patients become part of the research team, contributing their unique insights and lived experience of illness, care, or treatment. Their involvement helps make research more relevant, inclusive, and meaningful. What is clinical research? Clinical research aims to find out more about an illness. It helps us to improve healthcare - by testing new treatments, understanding health conditions better, and finding out what works best for patients.It’s an everyday part of what happens in the NHS, and it doesn’t always mean staying in hospital or even visiting your GP. In fact, some research can be carried out from home, or simply by giving permission for leftover samples from routine tests (like blood) to be used for research. This article was published on 2024-11-07
