Volunteering to champion health and care research
Are you passionate about health and care research and would like to be involved in promoting research?
We currently have four Public Research Champions (PRC) in our Trust who assist our research teams and we are looking for more people to volunteer for this rewarding role.
The PRC role involves talking about research at public events and visiting health services as well as promoting the Be Part of Research website. It also involves making sure the voice of patients and the public is incorporated in the co-design of posters and leaflets to raise public awareness.
Shahnaz Asghar has been a Public Research Champion for the last year and is also a NNUH volunteer and governor at the Trust.
“I love to support anything that will benefit patients. When I heard about the champions I wanted to get involved and wanted to help more to promote the benefits of research. I’m particularly interested in dementia research and anything to do with arthritis.”
Ron Brewer got involved in research 30 years ago after retiring and seeing an article in a local newspaper about public participation in research. He took part in EPIC-Norfolk and contributed information about diet, lifestyle and health through questionnaires and health checks for over 25 years. He has also taken part in studies to establish the health benefits of eating chocolate every day for a year and took part in another which required a daily dose of fish oil.
He said: “It is very satisfying and worthwhile. You feel you are doing your bit. I have suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for 20 years and you feel you are helping other people by doing simple things and sharing your experience.”
There is no necessity to volunteer for regular hours. PRCs try to attend a 1.5 hour meeting usually four or five times a year and then can do as much promoting as they are able to.
For more information, email office.RD@nnuh.nhs.uk or call 01603 287062.