Jane
“I wholeheartedly support clinical research. I wouldn’t be here enjoying an active life if it wasn’t for health research.”
Jane Owen, retired physiotherapist and Patient Research Ambassador
We are here to help you find out about health and social care research that is taking place across the UK.
“I wholeheartedly support clinical research. I wouldn’t be here enjoying an active life if it wasn’t for health research.”
Jane Owen, retired physiotherapist and Patient Research Ambassador
“Unless we try things out we’d never get to know what would work”.
Stephen Burgess, rare cancer trial participant.
“Harry was well looked after, carefully monitored, and we felt supported by the staff every step of the way.”
Stephanie George and Lee Murdoch whose newborn son Harry took part in a study.
We’ve rebuilt the UK Clinical Trials Gateway to make it easier to use. We will continue to improve our new ‘Be Part of Research’ site but we need your help. Feedback now.
A four week online course which is delivered free of charge, explains how medical treatments are discovered, tested and evaluated to improve healthcare for all. The next course starts from the 7th October 2019 and can be completed at your convenience. Find out more and sign up for this online course.
In this video, Professor Allan Gaw talks about how we build our understanding of how research feeds into our healthcare system. "Your role is crucial because every treatment that is given, every tablet that is prescribed and every test that is performed, has to first be discovered and then evaluated before it can be used". Read more about the importance of research in modern healthcare.
Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with young onset dementia at the age of 58. She is the author of Sunday Times Bestseller 'Somebody I Used to Know' and regularly blogs for the British Medical Journal. Wendy travels throughout the UK to talk about her involvement in research and encouraging others to do the same.
"Having an afternoon nap twice a week 'lowers your risk of a heart attack'," reports the Daily Mail on the findings of a recent study.
Lowering the drink-drive blood alcohol limit in Scotland was not followed by reduced road traffic accidents, perhaps because of a lack of enforcement. While there was a 0.7% reduction in alcohol bought in pubs and restaurants after the new legislation (on-trade sales), there was no significant change in sales of alcohol from shops or supermarkets (off-trade), where most purchases are made. Drink-drive accidents account for around 13% of all road deaths in Britain. In an attempt to improve this situation, Scotland reduced the legal limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg per 100ml of blood in 2014. This NIHR-funded study compared official figures on accidents and alcohol consumption for two years before, and two years after the change. The findings suggest that changes to the legal limit alone may not be sufficient to reduce drink driving. Changes may need to be supported by more intensive efforts to raise awareness of the limits and enforce them, and strategies to target those not complying.