The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has launched their ‘It’s OK to ask campaign’ which encourages patients and the public to ask about clinical research.
The campaign was launched on Monday (20 May 2013), ‘International Clinical Trials Day’ and the NIHR will be promoting this campaign throughout 2013/14.
“Clinical research is the way in which we improve treatments in the NHS. In many cases doctors will tell patients about research but we also need patients to ask about it and keep research at the top of the NHS agenda.” – NIHR website
Get involved in MND research
The NIHR is promoting the fact ‘it’s OK to ask about research’ and encourages patients or the public to ask their doctors about current research opportunities. The MND Association has a section on their website that lists ‘current opportunities to get involved in MND research’ and you can find out more here.
Getting involved in MND research does not only mean taking part in clinical drug trials. There are a number of other ways you can help including; questionnaires, tissue donation and fundraising.
“Last year, more than half a million NHS patients chose to take part in nearly 3,000 clinical research studies. Thanks to those patients, we are learning more all the time about how to deal with a whole range of medical conditions – and make some real breakthroughs that will improve thousands of lives.” – NIHR website
Share your experiences
The ‘It’s OK to ask’ campaign is encouraging patients or the public to share their experiences including what they asked and what response they received, via Facebook, Twitter (@OfficialNIHR #NIHRoktoask), phone: 0300 311 99 66 or email: oktoask@nihr.ac.uk
Can we in South Africa be included in this? If not why not?
Dear Bernice,
This campaign is run by the UK’s National Institue for Health Research (NIHR) and promotes that it’s OK for patients and the public to ask about clinical research, and encourages them to do so to keep research at the top of the NHS agenda. This is primarily a UK campaign however those in other areas of the world, including South Africa, can still participate by asking their doctors about research to find out about current research opportuniteies in their area.
For details about how to get involved in the it’s OK to ask campaign please see the NIHR’s website: http://www.crncc.nihr.ac.uk/oktoask/get_involved
I hope this has answered your questions and if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us via research@mndassociation.org
Kind regards,
The Research Development Team
Motor Neurone Disease Association, UK