Dementia research project launches with plea for participants

A nationwide online and telephone service that helps people to take part in dementia research studies has been launched this week.

‘Join Dementia Research’ promises to accelerate the pace of dementia research by allowing people with and without dementia to register their interest in studies, helping researchers find the right participants at the right time.

This new initiative has been developed as part of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia and the launch followed his announcement of £300m for dementia research with a direct call for the public to get involved.

‘Join dementia research’ is a collaboration between the National Institute for Health Research, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer Scotland and UCL Partners, and has been funded by the Department of Health and NHS England through the SBRI Healthcare Programme.

The lack of access to willing volunteers is holding back critical research into the condition with government figures showing that less than 5% of people with dementia take part in research studies.

The www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk website offers a secure and easy way for someone to register their interest, discover studies that interest them, and ultimately connect with researchers to take part in their studies.