09.03.2025
By taking part in research, you can help the future of treatments and care
Thanks to people like you, research can take place to help improve care and find treatments for the future.
Here are just some of the many people who are making a difference by taking part in dementia research.
Former Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Peter Middleton (pictured) has spoken about how volunteering for studies through Join Dementia Research has made him feel valued after his Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.
“Sometimes I find things I can’t do anymore and I get very sad and emotional. But I’m busy. I have lots of meetings because I’m taking part in research and speaking about my dementia at events. I’ve never felt as valued as I do now.” – Peter Middleton
Thank you
We want to sincerely thank the 85,000+ volunteers who are now registered to Join Dementia Research. Thanks to all of your contributions, researchers can recruit to vital dementia studies faster than ever. This will lead to earlier results which will help tackle one of the important health challenges that we face.
But we always need more people to take part in research.
If you’d like to help, you can sign up with Join Dementia Research and be part of the future of dementia care.
In case you missed it: read our full series of 10 reasons to be hopeful for the future of dementia research.
You don’t need to have dementia to make a difference either. Rianna Patterson took part in research as a healthy volunteer after losing her grandfather to dementia. Watch a video about why she took part below.
Why you should get involved in dementia research: Rianna's story
Transcript
0:055 seconds [music plays]
0:088 seconds He was my father figure because I didn't have a father. We went fishing, we went, you know, beach walks, just regular walks.
0:1616 seconds A lot of the skills that I have today and the way I am is because of my grandfather.
0:2323 seconds We had a few warning signs, but I think the final warning sign for us was when we were almost in a car accident and then it just kind of went downhill from there.
0:3535 seconds He forgot how to walk, how to talk, how to eat. We went through a stage of hospital to home, to hospital to home.
0:4444 seconds I lost him as a person and then his death and that kind of, you know, was significantly difficult point in my life.
0:5656 seconds And I wanted to kind of transform that pain into something that will support the community.
1:101 minute, 10 seconds I think what inspired me to get into research was experiencing first hand what dementia is like.
1:161 minute, 16 seconds Something I wouldn't want anyone to go through alone.
1:211 minute, 21 seconds Is thinking about how your voice is then shaping the way people think, feel and develop treatments for dementia.
1:301 minute, 30 seconds There are a number of ways that people can get involved in research. It could be a level of co-creation.
1:361 minute, 36 seconds So creating the questions needed to share with participants and then also being a participant.
1:451 minute, 45 seconds So answering questions or doing studies that actually record brain activity.
1:521 minute, 52 seconds Many ways to get involved in research is just depending on your interests. Please search for Join Dementia Research.
2:032 minutes, 3 seconds Sign up to Join Dementia Research today www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk
