Dementia affects more than 850,000 people in the UK. Research is the best way to make a difference.

Dementia affects the lives of not only the person living with dementia, but also their families and friends. Only through innovative research, will we find out the cause, discover new therapies, and better understand how we can support those living with a diagnosis and their carers. Join Dementia Research is a national initiative aiming to empower people with and without a dementia diagnosis to take part and learn more about memory and dementia through research.

You can visit Join Dementia Research to register your interest in taking part in vital dementia research.

How to get involved in UK dementia research (subtitled).  This short animation explains how you can get involved with Join Dementia Research, the UK-wide service that matches people to local dementia research studies. People with dementia or memory problems, their carers or anyone who is interested can sign up; you just need to be over 18.

With its word class universities and research active NHS trusts Greater Manchester is at the forefront of a lot of ground-breaking dementia research. However, unfortunately, Greater Manchester has historically fallen behind other major UK cities in terms of patient research engagement and research awareness. In 2018 less than 40 patients living with dementia registered to learn more about research through Join Dementia Research.

But, 2019 gives us cause for celebration. Following a year of collaboration and tireless effort from the Greater Manchester Clinical Research Network, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Dementia Research Centre, Pennine Care and Dementia United, it appears that we’re starting to see a sustained increase in research awareness and Join Dementia Research registrations, especially for those living with a dementia diagnosis. November has seen 16 new patients with a diagnosis register to the service, the most we’ve seen in a single month all year. This now places 2019 on track to be the second most successful year for research registrations since Join Dementia Research was launched in 2014.

We want to thank everyone who has helped us raise research awareness in 2019 from memory assessment teams, community groups through to GP surgeries – your efforts are hugely appreciated. We’re currently planning a range of new initiatives for 2020, including workshops, talks and activities so if you would like to know more or would like to get involved please e-mail sarah.fox@gmmh.nhs.uk, we’d love to hear from you.