Case study 2


Extending recruitment through the national Clinical Research Network

The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) is an ambitious and world-leading attempt to bring about behaviour change, through a standardised intervention delivered to people at risk of developing diabetes. People at risk are identified using various methods and referred to a group programme which helps them understand the risks of diabetes and make changes to their lives to prevent it in the future.

The NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research funded the DIPLOMA study developed by a group of researchers at the University of Manchester, which is exploring a variety of aspects of this major investment (link to DIPLOMA blog).

One part of the DIPLOMA programme seeks to better understand who comes into the programme, and does this through a survey of patients within general practice.

Originally, the plan was to recruit practices in Greater Manchester, as this makes it easier to support the research when the research team are close. However, there is increasing interest in enhancing the external validity of studies by making sure that patient recruitment better reflects the population of patients in England.


Patient and Doctor

To achieve this, the DIPLOMA team sought support from local teams in the Clinical Research Network, who could reach out to practices in their areas to support the research. Using this ‘reach’ of the network, we were able to recruit practices in other parts of the country outside Greater Manchester, providing wider opportunities to take part in research and helping to ensure the DIPLOMA study results better reflect the national picture.