News
Campaign launched to get more people involved in dementia research
May 24th 2018
A campaign aiming to get more people in Greater Manchester involved in NHS research that could one day cure dementia has been launched today.
Over the next 12 months, researchers are striving to get at least 1,000 more diagnosed dementia patients in Greater Manchester to register with Join Dementia Research (JDR).
They are launching the campaign today during Dementia Action Week (May 21 to 27) – and are calling on people to take their own “action” against this life-changing condition by joining JDR.
Greater Manchester has been selected to spearhead the JDR campaign due to the outstanding dementia clinical research already being carried out in the region. The campaign, titled Embedding Research in Care (ERICA), is part of the government’s Dementia 2020 strategy.
Join Dementia Research is an easy-to-use website run by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). By signing-up in just five minutes and entering basic medical details, people can be contacted about clinical research studies which are relevant and local to them. If they wish, they can then take part in those studies.
More than 30,0000 people in Greater Manchester are living with dementia and, with an ageing UK population, this number is likely to grow significantly.
There is currently no cure for the disease and existing medications can only treat some of the symptoms. Therefore, in order to discover and licence treatments to beat dementia, there is an urgent need to undertake clinical research studies.
Only through this research is it possible to better understand dementia and bring about improvements in its prevention, treatment and care.
There are currently over 40 dementia research studies, accredited on the NIHR portfolio, being carried out in Greater Manchester. This research is offering people with dementia and their families more opportunities to access cutting edge treatments and shape future care.
In 2017/18, 3,549 participants were involved in dementia research in Greater Manchester. Many of these people accessed these studies via JDR.
Angela Aldridge, NIHR Clinical Research Operations Manager, leads the Greater Manchester exemplar campaign.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR): improving the health and wealth of the nation through research.
Established by the Department of Health and Social Care, the NIHR:
• funds high quality research to improve health
• trains and supports health researchers
• provides world-class research facilities
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