Loneliness and social isolation are rising problems in society. The Measuring Loneliness in the UK (INTERACT) study aimed to evaluate the extent that individuals are feeling lonely or socially isolated. It collected anonymised data from a large cross section of society. The data collected was used to create a 'heat map' of loneliness across England.
The study used the NIHR’s new online research registry, Be Part of Research, as part of its recruitment strategy. The study had few eligibility criteria. So it could be shared with almost every person signed up to the registry.
170,000 people took part in the study, including over 40,000 people who signed up through Be Part of Research.
Dr Austen El-Osta, Principal Investigator for INTERACT, said: “The innovative approaches used to engage with a large sample of participants from the Be Part of Research community accelerated our timelines and enriched the data quality, further amplifying the potential impact of the study.”
Captive audience
Recruiting a very large sample of participants to a study can be challenging. This can be made easier by leveraging technology. Everyone on Be Part of Research have declared their interest in learning about research.
Dr El-Osta said: “The Be Part of Research platform was invaluable in overcoming traditional barriers to recruitment. The single most important barrier to get past is how to get information to people in a way that matters to them. Be Part of Research has a captive audience of people who are interested in research and expect to be contacted about studies.
"The coverage of England means you can contact people from all walks of life, diverse in age, gender and ethnicity, and from rural and urban areas. Being able to sample a representative cross-section of the population is valuable to any researcher."
“By empowering individuals to contribute to research that matters to them, Be Part of Research is helping transform the landscape of participant engagement across the UK. Our collaboration with Be Part of Research is a great example of how the registry can bridge the gap between researchers and communities on topics of national interest.”
Quality assurance
Be Part of Research supports studies on the NIHR Research Delivery Network portfolio. This means that they’ve satisfied the requirements of the Department of Health and Social Care's eligibility criteria and have appropriate ethical approval.
Dr El-Osta said: “The NIHR is a trusted provider. If people are hearing about the study through Be Part of Research it means the study is on the NIHR portfolio and there’s already plenty of quality assurance in place. It means that studies on Be Part of Research have gone the extra mile and I think that’s reassuring to members of the public.”
Find out more about which studies can use Be Part of Research and complete our study registration form to get started.
