- Northern Ireland health leaders supporting biggest-ever recruitment drive for clinical trials
- Be Part of Research is a free UK-wide research registry that matches people to suitable health and care studies, based on their interests
- Push to sign up 1.5 million people to registry by April 2026
The nation’s biggest-ever recruitment drive for clinical trials - to sign up to 1.5 million people to the Be Part of Research register – has launched!
People across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to sign up to a national health research registry to help improve care, treatments and health services for everybody.
Be Part of Research is a UK-wide partnership between the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the UK’s devolved administrations, and the NHS. The national volunteer registry helps people find suitable health care research studies based on their interests, where they live - as well as their age, sex and ethnicity.
People sign up online and choose the health conditions for trials they would like to take part in, for example heart disease and diabetes. They are then sent clear information about suitable study opportunities by email - making it easy to find and take part in vital health and care research.
Dr Rhonda Campbell, Assistant Director, Health and Social Care Research & Development (HSC R&D) Division of the Public Health Agency said:
“Evidence shows that healthcare organisations engaging in research provide better outcomes for their patients.
“The ‘Be Part of Research’ campaign, led by the National Institute of Health and Care Research in England, aims to encourage patients, carers, public and staff to find out more about what research is taking place in health and social care and the different ways they might get involved. This could be by sharing information about a study, participating in a study or helping to plan and design a study.”
“HSC R&D Division, and our HSC partners, will continue to highlight the importance of research as a core function of HSC and support the research ecosystem to bring health and prosperity to the population of Northern Ireland.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, CEO of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “Tomorrow’s treatments are today’s research. We are calling on the British public to sign up to Be Part of Research, our world-leading register, to find studies that they can take part in. Whether you are a healthy volunteer, or have a particular condition, you can be part of research that makes a difference.
"It is vital that health and care research represents society, reflecting the diversity within it to produce the best treatments. Research that includes people from all backgrounds and from across the country will produce findings that benefit and serve everybody. Being a part of research is a great way to get involved and give back in a way that can change lives, accelerate knowledge and benefit us all. Members of the public will be able to be matched to vital trials through the Be Part of Research service.”
Participating in health research helps develop new treatments, improves the NHS, public health and social care, and saves lives.
Everyone can take part in research, whether they have a health condition or not. Some studies seek people without the condition being studied, so researchers can compare them to those who have it.
The studies on Be Part of Research take place in a range of places including hospitals, GP practices, or even from home. For example, by responding to an online questionnaire about a person’s health condition.
More than half a million people from across the UK have already signed up to Be Part of Research. Over this time, the service has enrolled more than 90,000 people to over 100 studies into a wide range of health conditions, including the UK’s first norovirus vaccine trial.
People across Northern Ireland can sign-up to be contacted about opportunities to take part in studies that are right for them by creating a free Be Part of Research account at bepartofresearch.uk
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Notes to editors:
About Be Part of Research
Be Part of Research is a UK-wide service that helps people find and take part in health and care research across nearly every health condition. It is run by the NIHR, in collaboration with NHS and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The NIHR and the Be Part of Research service are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Be Part of Research is the first UK-wide research volunteer registry into all health conditions. Following a successful pilot from 2022, the Be Part of Research registry is being launched to the public in June 2025.