A national project called Join Dementia Research is putting together a new nationwide service that helps people to take part in dementia research studies.
Join Dementia Research allows people, with or without dementia, to register their interest in studies - helping researchers to find the right participants at the right time.
Enabling dementia research
In Nottinghamshire, the Join Dementia Research project has been welcomed, and is actively supported by Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust.
Goiz-Eder Aspe Juaristi, Dementia challenge project manager at Nottingham University Hospitals said the project is vital. She explained:
"We are trying to promote dementia research in the whole of the UK and here in the East Midlands. It's a big problem at the moment and it's going to become even bigger in the future.
" At the moment we don't have much understanding of the disease and we need to really start focusing on research.
"Dementia is not so much in vogue compared to something like cancer. So we need to increase our efforts." She explained that one of the ways of getting people interested in research and bringing them together is this research.
"It's a matchmaking website where people interested in taking part in research express their interest and it puts them in touch with local researchers conducting research in the area. It could cover all areas like the effects of lifestyle, drugs, alcohol and all sorts of things."
She added: "It's a different way of doing things. But it's more accessible and anyone can join in and it puts these people in touch and they can get in contact much easier. This is the only way to make progress – we need to make that happen."
Making a positive contribution to dementia research
Professor Rowan Harwood, Consultant Geriatrician at NUH and dementia researcher at The University of Nottingham, said:
"The Western world is ageing, and Nottingham is no exception. Dementia becomes much more frequent as people get into their 80s and 90s.
"It is now our most costly health and social care problem, and, according to one survey, the most feared. But the amount of research done on dementia is tiny compared with problems such as cancer or heart disease. We must do something about that.
"Recruiting people with dementia to take part in studies is time-consuming, expensive and a real barrier to progress.
"A big issue is that data protection laws do not allow researchers to approach people with dementia directly - we need your permission to be told what diagnoses you might have, and in many respects that is very wise. But it does prevent research."
It is hoped that the Join Dementia Project will boost research participation by connecting people interested in research to suitable dementia studies.
Extract of article first published 28/09/15 Nottingham Post. Read the full article at:
http://www.nottinghampost.com/join-battle-dementia/story-27882342-detail/story.html#ixzz3nLrJsR3o
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