Studies suggest that many people with dementia want to take part in research but don’t know how to get involved, which is why NHS England is encouraging healthcare professionals to signpost patients to Join Dementia Research.

Join Dementia Research provides clinicians with an easy way to help people register their interest in taking part in many different types of dementia research, without the need to have an intricate knowledge of research itself. When people sign up to Join Dementia Research, the information they provide is used to match them to studies they may be able to take part in online and in their local area. Anyone over 18 in the UK can sign up – with or without a dementia diagnosis. Signing up does not mean that they have to participate, only that they are happy to be contacted.

The service is run by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland, Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society.

To help clinicians promote the service, Join Dementia Research has created a toolkit for healthcare professionals. The toolkit includes resources such as leaflets, posters, and case studies on healthcare professionals who have promoted the service.

Research is currently focusing on new interventions for people in the early stages of dementia, making it important that people take part to improve our understanding of dementia, as well as shape services and treatments available to patients in the NHS. For more information, visit the NIHR’s web pages on dementias and neurodegeneration research