Our Future Health, the UK’s largest ever health research programme, is celebrating its millionth volunteer joining the programme, just over a year after it started recruiting.
The programme is creating a detailed picture of health in the UK by collecting and linking genetic and other health data for millions of people. This will enable researchers to find breakthroughs that help revolutionise the way we detect, treat and prevent disease. The programme will help transform healthcare around the world, leading to millions of people living longer and healthier lives.
It is particularly focused on recruiting volunteers from ethnic minorities and more deprived communities as these have been under-represented in health research in the past. Because of its focus on diversity in recruitment, Our Future Health also now has the largest ever number of volunteers from more deprived backgrounds and ethnic minority groups of any UK health research programme.
Anyone over 18 can volunteer by signing up online. They will then be asked to complete an online health questionnaire and book a clinic appointment. At the appointment, which are held in pharmacies and in mobile clinics that travel around the country, volunteers give a blood sample, and some physical measurements are taken. They are also offered information about their own health, including their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and in the future they will be given the option to receive feedback about their risk of some diseases, and have the chance to take part in further research studies.
In South Yorkshire the following clinics are currently open:
-
Boots - Sheffield Heeley Retail Park
-
Boots - Barnsley Cortonwood Retail Park
-
Boots - Rotherham Retail World retail park
-
Blood donors can also join as part of their existing appointments at Sheffield’s three NHS Blood and Transplant Donation Centres
Announcements about any new clinic openings are made on the Our Future Health news page here: https://ourfuturehealth.org.uk/news-and-stories/
Dr David Crichton, Medical Director at NHS South Yorkshire said:
“Our Future Health is a health research programme on a scale never seen before anywhere in the world. With so many people taking part it has the potential to become a powerful research tool to help tackle chronic diseases. It has the potential to enable discoveries that help change our health system from one where we treat people who are sick to being much more focused on preventing people form getting sick in the first place.
“I would encourage people in South Yorkshire to join me and look at signing up as it is a positive thing you can do for your own health, and you will also be making a positive contribution to the future health of people across the world.”
Volunteers who don’t live near a location where Our Future Health clinic appointments are currently available can join now and be notified when new clinic locations become available. New locations will be announced on the Our Future Health website and social media channels.
Our Future Health is an ambitious collaboration between the public sector, life sciences companies and leading UK health charities including: Action Against Age-related Macular Degeneration, Alzheimer’s Society, Asthma + Lung UK, Blood Cancer UK, Breast Cancer Now, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Diabetes UK, Fight For Sight, Kidney Research UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Parkinson’s UK, Prostate Cancer UK, Royal Osteoporosis Society, Stroke Association and Versus Arthritis.