Our Future Health will be the UK’s largest health research programme. Recruiting of volunteers to take part will begin in Croydon shortly.
The programme is designed to help people live healthier lives for longer through the discovery and testing of more effective approaches to prevention, earlier detection, and treatment of diseases. The aim is that by 2025 there will be up to 5 million volunteers that truly reflect the UK population. Volunteers will provide information about their health and lifestyles; a small blood sample; and their consent to combine this with other information about themselves, including their health records and genetic data derived from their samples.
Researchers will then be able to use Our Future Health to make new discoveries about human health and chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and dementia. Working in partnership with the NHS, charities, and industry, the programme aims to help drive the shift towards sustaining health and preventing disease, rather than managing late-stage illness. You may have seen recent press coverage of this on BBC news and in the Guardian. You can also find out more about the programme on our website.
Croydon is one of the first areas of the country where volunteers are actively being recruited with a dedicated community hub in Centrale Shopping Centre, where volunteers can come to have their health measurements and blood samples taken. NHS DigiTrials will be issuing invitation letters to adults in Croydon to join Our Future Health over the next few months. There was some specific coverage about the roll out in Croydon in London News Online.
