Patients and Public

The Dementia Trials Accelerator is an initiative that aims to provide people in the UK who are affected by, or at risk of dementia, with options to take part in clinical trials, and helps researchers to find suitable trial participants. These researchers are aiming to discover new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat dementia and other brain conditions.

While the initiative is primarily designed to support these researchers, there are also opportunities for patients, carers and public contributors to shape the work, sign up to take part in research, and find support and information about dementia. Explore this page to find out more about each of these opportunities.

Help Shape the Initiative

The Dementia Trials Accelerator is convened by Health Data Research UK and the UK Dementia Research Institute, and funded by the Medical Research Council. We put people at the heart of everything we do. We are strongly committed to patients and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), because people affected by dementia shouldn’t just take part in research —they should help shape it.

We have involved people affected by dementia to guide our work, and we are working with dementia charities to reach even more communities. If you are a patient, carer or member of the public and would like to get involved in our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement activities, or simply learn more about the Dementia Trials Accelerator, please contact us at involvement@hdruk.ac.uk.

You can also join the HDR UK Voices network to receive updates, news and ways to get involved in our PPIE activities.

Sign-up to Take Part in Research

The Dementia Trials Accelerator currently works with people involved in existing research studies. You can still express your interest in taking part in dementia research by signing up with our partner, Join Dementia Research. They will help to match you with studies that are relevant and local to you.

Where to find support and information for dementia

If you or someone you know is affected by dementia, Alzheimer’s Society offers a range of support services to help you through every stage (before, during, and after diagnosis).
They provide:

• Health information and online support via their website
• Telephone support via their Dementia Support Line, call 03331503456
• Face-to-face support, such as Dementia support groups and Dementia Advisers