Take part
Clinical research studies and trials help us understand health better and develop new ways of treating and managing conditions, including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and many types of cancer.
With hundreds of studies happening at any one time across a wide range of conditions, we are able to offer many people the opportunity to take part in research.
Our research could not happen without patients and the public and, each year, we work with thousands of volunteers to conduct research and improve healthcare.
There are three ways you can take part in our research:
Taking part as a patient
If you are a patient at one of our hospitals, you may be invited to take part in a study or trial. It is up to you whether or not you wish to get involved. If you decide not to participate, it will not affect your treatment in any way.
If you are interested in taking part, speak with your doctor or talk to one of our grey-uniformed research nurses to see if there are any studies or trials you are eligible to join.
You can also search for a trial or study currently recruiting patients here.
If you have any questions or would like more information, contact us by calling 023 8120 4989 or email CRFstudyteam@uhs.nhs.uk.
Taking part as a healthy volunteer
As well as patients, many of our clinical research trials and studies aim to involve ‘healthy volunteers’ – people who are interested in contributing towards research but are generally healthy or do not have the condition or disease being investigated.
Healthy volunteers help researchers better understand a variety of health conditions as their information can be compared with people who have a specific disease or condition.
You can also search for a trial or study currently recruiting patients here.
In Southampton, we have a database of healthy volunteers and send information about trials and studies they might be able to take part in. If you would like to join this database please contact the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility (details below).
If you have any questions or would like more information, contact us by calling 0238 120 4989 or email CRFstudyteam@uhs.nhs.uk.
Help shape our research
We want to improve our clinical research processes, our research participants’ experiences and make sure that our trials and studies provide maximum benefit to people’s health – to do this, we need your help.
Involving people in our clinical research is about more than asking them to take part in a trial or study. Volunteers also help to shape our clinical research activities – what we do and how we do it – and we call this Patient and Public Involvement (PPI). This includes:
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meeting up to discuss ideas for clinical research trials and studies
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reviewing clinical research information sheets and posters
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feeding back ideas on how to promote clinical research trials and studies and their results
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helping us identify research priorities
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taking part in a clinical research trial or study steering group
We work with a range of people to shape our clinical research activities, including people with experience of a particular condition (as a patient, family member or carer), people who have taken part in a trial or study, and those who have an interest in clinical research.
*Currently all of our activities are being done online due to social distancing requirements. This can be over the phone, email or virtual meeting platforms. We provide support and step-by-step guidance to individuals who are unfamiliar with the technology.
If you have any questions or would like more information about PPI, please contact us by calling 023 8120 4989 or emailing PublicInvolvement@uhs.nhs.uk