Be part of our research

How you can help research

Health research plays a vital role in caring for and treating patients. Whether you’re in hospital having your baby or being treated for an ongoing condition, we will be able to offer you the best care because
of previous research studies.

We know the best types of treatment for your condition, the most effective medications to prescribe, which pieces of equipment could help you, what we need to know about you and even how it feels to be in your position, all because of research.

We need people willing to take part

We can’t carry out research alone. We need patients, carers, service users and even healthy volunteers (those without a condition) to be involved.

• It might be agreeing to answer some questions about yourself while in hospital.
• It might mean agreeing for a sample to be taken, such as saliva or blood.
• It may be an ongoing study about a long-term condition, such as diabetes, where you would be asked to use a piece of equipment and share your experience with our medical researcher.
• It could mean taking part in a study using a new drug, such as chemotherapy, when treating cancer.
• It may mean answering a series of questions about your health and how you feel before and after treatment, or before and after giving birth to your baby.

Are you suitable?

Some studies have specific requirements depending on the research and what it’s looking at. This could be to focus on a specific condition or a specific patient group. If it’s around maternity, then someone expecting a baby or someone who has recently had a baby may be the only people who can take part. It could be a piece of research looking at how people respond to treatment at a certain age, so if you’re not within that age bracket you may not be eligible.

Who might ask?

If you come to hospital, as an inpatient or an outpatient, you may be asked by a healthcare professional who also forms part of our Research team. The team is made up of all kinds of healthcare
professionals such as:

• nurses
• doctors
• allied health professionals (AHPs) such as speech and language therapists or physiotherapists
• clinical research practitioners

They may have identified you as a suitable person for a relevant study, either because you’re within the eligibility criteria or to give you the opportunity to try a new treatment for your condition. Whatever study you agree to be involved in, your data will only be shared with those people you have consented to see it.

You have the right to say no if you’d rather not be included. It is always your choice, it will not affect your treatment in any way.

What type of research could it be?

Research takes many forms. It could be a one-off questionnaire, agreeing to a blood sample being taken or a longer-term study looking at the impact of a drug or device.

Your involvement may be very short, or you may be asked if you’d be happy to come back to the hospital to be monitored. This could be a one-off or on a regular basis depending on the study and treatment.

When will you know the result?

Many studies are carried out and completed over several months, or even years. It’s also common for research to happen at many different hospitals with one leading hospital, so results may take time to be processed too.

Research at ESNEFT

If you are interested in taking part in a research study at ESNEFT, you can register your name and  details through the NHS app or website. Scroll down to the ‘Be Part of Research’ section and sign up there.

Go to The National Institute for Health and Care Research website to find out about research projects taking place in our area.

Most importantly, ask your healthcare professionals about research projects taking place here at ESNEFT.

If you would like more details on how you can become involved with supporting research, study, design and development at ESNEFT please email the Research team