How Can You Take Part in Research?
Research is fundamental to improving quality and care for everybody and patients often enjoy being part of these studies. Sometimes they receive tests or treatments that wouldn’t have been available to them otherwise and benefit from regular monitoring and close care.
Volunteering to get involved may mean filling in questionnaires, surveys, talking to one of the research team, or trialling a new treatment or drug.
All clinical research projects are checked by external ethical committees, before being offered to the Research Team. We then select those projects that interest us or are most relevant to our practice population.
There are various ways that you can become involved in studies:
- A doctor or nurse may talk to you about a particular study and ask whether you would be interested in participating
- You may be sent information through the post if we feel you may be a suitable participant
- You may see information within the practice, via our practice website or social media channels and wish to find out more information about taking part
- Your participation is entirely voluntary and can be withdrawn by yourself at any time.
- You will always receive clear information about what taking part in a research study would involve. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and obtain further details about a study.
- If you do agree to take part in a study you will be asked to sign a consent form. This will clearly state which parts of your notes (if any) may be looked at for the purposes of the research study. Nobody from outside this practice will be given your contact details or have access to your medical records without your prior consent.
Can you help with our current Research Studies?
Harmonie Study
High Blood Pressure
Heart Attack/ Stroke
Ashfields Primary Care Centre are currently recruiting patients for an exciting new study. If you have experienced a heart attack, a stroke or you suffer from insufficient blood flow in your legs, this study may be for you. Interested?
Covid-19
Principle Trial
People who have received the vaccination are still eligible to join the PRINCIPLE trial in search of treatments.
To take part, you need to:
- You have had a positive test for COVID-19, AND are unwell with symptoms of COVID-19 which have started in the last 14 days. These symptoms may include, but are not limited to:
- a new continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual),
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to take your temperature),
- a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell
- shortness of breath,
- general feeling of being unwell,
- muscle pain, diarrhoea,
- vomiting, fever and cough,
and you must have had them for fewer than 15 days.
The study is for people with ongoing symptoms. People who feel they are already well on the way to recovery should not take part.
- You also need to be aged 18 and over
Find out more https://www.principletrial.org/
Heart Disease
Semaglutide effects on heart disease and stroke in patients with overweight or obesity
The researchers are doing the study to see if semaglutide may reduce the risk of having cardiovascular events in patients with overweight or obesity and with prior cardiovascular disease. The participant will either get semaglutide (active medicine) or placebo (“dummy” medicine). Which treatment the participants get is decided by chance.
The participant’s chance of getting semaglutide or placebo is the same. The participant will get the study medicine in a pen.
The participants will need to use the pen to inject the study medicine in a skinfold once a week. The study will last for about 2.5 to 5 years. Participants will have up to 25 clinic visits with the study doctor.
Cholesterol Lowering
Effect of Evolocumab in Patients at High Cardiovascular Risk Without Prior Myocardial Infarction or Stroke (VESALIUS-CV)
This study will assess the effect of lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with evolocumab on major cardiovascular events in adults without a prior myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke who are at high risk of a cardiovascular event.
Click here for study information on ClinicalTrials.gov website
Shingles
GlaxoSmithKline Shingles Study
Have you had Shingles in the past?
Are you interested in taking part in a GlaxoSmithKline sponsored study looking at the use of a vaccine to prevent another shingles attack in the future?
If you’re aged 50 and over, and have had Shingles once before please get in touch.
Please note that we are unable to advertise every study that we are doing, as this is sometimes due to the nature of the study design.