Research Partners and Initiatives 

Ask your patients to consider signing up today

Be Part of Research makes it easier than ever for people to find and take part in health and care research. It's the NIHR's flagship research registry. The free online service matches volunteers to health and care studies, based on your interests, taking place online or at locations near you.

Through Be Part of Research, you can find and take part in research into nearly every major health condition - as well as social care research.

Simply sign up online and choose the areas of research you’re interested in. You’ll be matched to suitable studies and sent clear information about what’s involved and how you can take part, if you choose to.

Whatever your state of health, you can help find new and better ways to treat conditions, and improve care. You can even take part as a healthy volunteer. Your family may have been particularly affected by a particular condition, or you may have experienced an illness and want to make life better for others living with it. 

Sign up to Be Part of Research today and make a difference to the health and care of tomorrow.  With your help, research can go further and faster. 

How can Primary Care sites help promote this service? 

Primary Care partners can help by displaying promotional material for Be Part of Research in patient-facing areas. We have posters (size A4 and A3) and leaflets (size A5) which you can order direct, free of charge, from the NIHR Shop. Or just contact us and we'll get some to you. 

We also have a variety of videos, such as the one below, which we would love to appear on your waiting area screens. You can find a range of promotional materials, including social media graphics, in our 'campaign in a box'.  

A research registry just for the North West 

Research for the Future works in a similar way to the Be Part of Research service mentioned above. Research for the Future is provided in partnership with NIHR North West Regional Research Delivery Network, NorthWest EHealth, and Health Innovation Manchester. 

Their aim is to improve recruitment to NIHR Portfolio research studies by building a database of volunteers who consent to be approached in the future about studies they are eligible to participate in.

The campaign is promoted across the North West to encourage as many people as possible to get involved. Volunteers receive information about research opportunities they might want to take part in. To hear about study opportunities, people must register by providing some basic details. 

Research for the Future also has a series of ‘Help BEAT’ campaigns. Each Help BEAT campaign invites people with a particular health condition to hear more about research going on in that condition area. 

NorthWest EHealth (NWEH) is a not-for-profit organisation formed by a partnership between the University of Manchester, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and Salford CCG. It was set up in 2008 to develop links between academia and the NHS in the area of health informatics and develop new research using anonymised patient records to support improving healthcare. 

NWEH has a team of talented software engineers, database analysts, statisticians, researchers and support staff who develop leading software and services for our partners and the wider health research community. They are based at Bright house and Salford Quays. 

One of NWEH’s key products that we regularly use is FARSITE. 

FARSITE is a powerful profiling tool for searching, identifying and contacting cohorts of patients, enabling more people to participate in research. FARSITE software provides a safe, convenient and effective way for GPs to control the recruitment of their patients into clinical research; whilst allowing NHS-based researchers to run complex and powerful searches over pseudonymised population level, health record data. FARSITE delivers fast and detailed searches, enabling greater reach and efficiency for trials, as well as faster conversion of research into best clinical practice. 

Find out more: www.nweh.org.uk

As the UK leader in connected healthcare software and systems, EMIS technology is at the fingertips of clinicians across major healthcare settings every day. For over 25 years, EMIS has supported ethical clinical research to improve patient outcomes on a national scale.

The Recruit solution from EMIS bridges the gap between patients, healthcare teams, and researchers by enabling primary care teams to easily support clinical trial recruitment directly within their clinical system. Recruit delivers complex prebuilt searches against primary care Electronic Health Record (EHR) data to identify patients who may meet eligibility criteria for clinical trials. With just a few clicks, primary care teams can review the generated list and invite patients to register their interest via text or email. Patients can then choose to participate, with no data shared with the research organisation until consent is given.

“The streamlined process of Recruit was a fantastic starting point for our journey into clinical trials. Having research data and searches readily available within our clinical systems made a significant difference. The simplicity of identifying and inviting eligible patients with just a click of a button was a valuable feature. Plus, receiving prompt payment was an added bonus!”

Paula Lock, Business Manager, The Brooke Surgery, Hyde

As the number one GP system supplier in the UK, EMIS recognises the huge potential of primary care in transforming clinical research. The rich, coded, cradle-to-grave patient data from this setting can help to better identify the right candidates for clinical trials from a huge and diverse proportion of the population, propelling forward research that both represents and benefits us all. To find out more, visit emishealth.com/clinical-trial-recruitment or email Research@emisgroupplc.com