NIHR’s Be Part of Research registry
We would like to share this blog with you, from the NIHR Chief Executive Officer and DHSC Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Lucy Chappell, who reflects on the vital role of participants in health and care research and how the NIHR’s Be Part of Research registry will help transform the care and treatments of tomorrow.
The Government’s much-awaited 10 Year Health Plan paves a path towards a health service that is fit for the future. It outlines three key shifts to get the NHS back on its feet and ready to face the challenges ahead:
- Moving care from the hospital to the community
- Embracing digital technology
- Prioritising prevention and early intervention
Underlining this vision is Britain’s life sciences sector. With top ranking universities, world-leading trials and some of the world’s biggest life-science companies, the UK’s life science sector will power transformation and drive healthcare reform.
But at the centre of all of this is you – the public.
For all the incredible scientists and healthcare professionals that drive our medical innovations, world-class research relies on members of the public taking part in studies and trials.
As the research arm of the Department of Health and Social Care, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) currently funds and supports over 15,000 research projects each year, across a wide range of diseases and conditions. And because we mostly fund later-stage ‘translational’ research – turning scientific discoveries into clinical practice and patient care – participants are key partners in making research a reality.
People who help test new and better ways of preventing, detecting and treating disease are just as much a part of the research as the researchers themselves. Sometimes volunteers will be healthy and want to help others, while others may be looking for a cure during the most difficult times of their lives.
In all cases, whether it is a vaccine, a medication, a scan, or simply filling out a survey, their contribution is crucial to getting life-changing medicines and treatments into the NHS.
Last year, over 1 million participants volunteered to take part in NIHR-delivered, UK-wide studies. If you are one of them, thank you. Rapid advancements are now being made across a range of health and care conditions.
The Government’s recent renewed commitment to investing in research and Life Sciences Sector Plan are set to turbocharge clinical trials. There has never been a better time to join the growing list of volunteers and take part in research.
This summer we launched the UK’s biggest-ever health research recruitment campaign and are encouraging you to join the hundreds of thousands of people who take part in clinical trials in the UK every year.
Now part of the NHS App, the Be Part of Research service enables members of the public to choose the areas of health and care they are interested in. Once registered, volunteers will be sent information on studies they could take part in. In short, this is a match-making service for research.
As a NHS doctor and a researcher myself, some of my most meaningful career moments have been offering new treatments to those that I provide care for and then seeing those research findings become everyday practice in the NHS.
By embedding research into standard care, Be Part of Research will give more people access to novel and potentially life-saving treatments and care. It will also make it faster and more efficient for life science companies to recruit the people they need to bring their innovations to market.
We are particularly encouraging Black people, people of South Asian heritage, young people aged 18 to 24, and older adults to sign up. Often the areas of the country that are most affected by ill health have the lowest numbers of people taking part in the research that shapes their healthcare.
We want everyone to be able to find these opportunities. It is critical that research volunteers come from as diverse a range of backgrounds as possible, so that we can be sure that the findings and treatments work for everyone, and do not widen gaps in health outcomes.
We all have a role to play in building a modern, patient-centered health service that is equipped to meet the challenges of the future.
I encourage everyone to join us. Be Part of Research and help us to make a difference to the health and care research of tomorrow, for all our benefit.
Sign up to Be Part of Research
Choose what conditions you’re interested in and get matched to suitable trials in your area.
