By taking part in research you’ll be helping us to test and developed things like new models of care, support methods and drug treatments.
By taking part in research you’ll be helping us to test and developed things like new models of care, support methods and drug treatments.
All of the studies you see below have been given approval by the Health Research Authority and will be carried out by experts with clinical, research and academic backgrounds.
Who this study is aimed at?
Service users who are seeing treatment services in relation their alcohol use.
Who can’t take part?
Individuals with cognitive impairment or unable to understand and speak English.
Study summary
One off interview with a researcher.
Study visits
One.
Services taking part
Sidney Street Centre, Fitzwilliam Centre
Who to contact
Dr Olawale Lagundoye
How to contact
Who this study is aimed at?
Adults aged 16 or older with a diagnosis of ASD
Who can’t take part?
People who do not have a confirmed diagnosis of ASD
Study summary
Questionnaire for people to be included in a cohort so that researchers can learn about the lives of adults on the autism spectrum
Study visits
One off questionnaire. Participants may be contacted in the future to be asked if they would like to take part in autism-related studies.
Services taking part
Autism Service, Michael Carlisle Centre
Who to contact
See website here.
How to contact
See website above.
Who this study is aimed at?
People who take opioid drugs such as heroin, morphine, fentanyl and methadone, and people who are friends or family members of a person at risk of opioid overdose
Who can’t take part?
Drug service users (or friends and family members of service users) who have no experience of opioid misuse
Study summary
One off interview lasting about 30-45 minutes or one off focus group lasting about 60 minutes
Study visits
One
Services taking part
Fitzwilliam Centre
Who to contact
Zoe Black
How to contact
Who this study is aimed at?
People who have symptoms of depression or non-psychotic low mood with a duration of illness of at least 2 years and are receiving treatment from an NHS mental health service with regular contact with clinicians
Who can’t take part?
People who have a primary diagnosis of a substance misuse problem, a diagnosis of a mental disorder eg Alzheimer’s, current inpatients on a psychiatric ward. People who do not currently have clinical contact with a mental health professional
Study summary
This research aims to develop a new approach to help people with chronic depression. Researchers have developed an intervention called “DIALOG+” which helped people with schizophrenia. DIALOG+ involved mental health staff using a tablet computer to ask about satisfaction with different areas of life and then working together to find solutions to concerns raised. After using DIALOG+, service users were more satisfied with life and had fewer symptoms. Service users and staff found the approach helpful and it saved the NHS money.
The second phase of the TACK programme is looking at the effectiveness of DIALOG+ for people with chronic depression on improving quality of life and clinical outcomes (such as depression symptoms). The intervention will be tested in routine meetings across six sites in England. Researchers will also evaluate how cost-effective the intervention is within the NHS. They will also determine what works well or not so well in order to improve training materials and resources for staff.
Study visits
Six months of monthly sessions, followed by six months of booster sessions, to be done at the same time as clinical appointments
Services taking part
Northlands Community Health Centre, Edmund Road, East Glade Centre
Who to contact
Matthew Mills, Shonagh Scott
How to contact
matthew.mills@shsc.nhs.uk, shonagh.scott@shsc.nhs.uk
Find out more
Find out more information here.
Who this study is aimed at?
Service users aged 18-70 with symptoms of psychosis for longer than two weeks but less than two years
Who can’t take part?
Service users who have had psychotic symptoms for longer than two years
Study summary
Staff will collect a small sample of blood from you and other people with psychosis symptoms from across the country. They will also collect some information about your symptoms and background. If your blood test then shows that your immune system is not working properly they will discuss this with you. Researchers are exploring a possible treatment in a separate study called SINAPPS2 and you may be able to take part in this study.
Study visits
One visit of approximately 15 minutes
Services taking part
Limbrick Health Centre
Who to contact
Dr Raihan Talukdar, Alex Carey
How to contact
raihan.talukdar@shsc.nhs.uk, alex.carey@shsc.nhs.uk
Find out more
Find out more information here.
Who this study is aimed at?
Patients diagnosed with non-affective psychosis (i.e. schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, psychosis not otherwise specified).
Who can’t take part?
Study summary
This study is a questionnaire study where 1000 patients with non-affective psychosis will answer a pack of 10 questionnaires (approx. 30 minutes) once.
Who to contact
Elissa Thompson, Nurse Researcher at Research Development Unit, Sheffield Health and Social Care
How to contact
Who this study is aimed at?
We would like to interview patients who have experienced either seclusion or restraint. This will give us valuable information about your experiences of the ward and what you think may have led to these events.
Who can’t take part?
People who have not been an in-patient on a Psychiatric ward
Study summary
How do environmental factors contribute to increases and decreases in use of seclusion and de-escalation in psychiatric inpatient settings, and the experiences of patients and staff?
Study visits
A researcher will visit you on the ward and introduce themselves to you, and answer any questions you may have about the research. If you decide that you would like to take part, then the researcher will help you to complete a consent form. The conversation will last for about an hour and you will be free to end it at any time, or refuse to answer any questions which you do not want to answer.
Who to contact
Dr. Hamid Alhaj
How to contact
Tel: 0114 226 1588
Email: h.alhaj@sheffield.ac.uk
Who this study is aimed at?
Adults who have previously been admitted to an acute mental health ward. Friends or relatives of these adults, who are willing to share further information with consent.
Who can’t take part?
Exclusion criteria include patients under the age of 18 years, over the age of 65 years and/or having no history of being a psychiatric inpatient.
Study summary
There has been little research into how common problems with social communication are in people who have been admitted to mental health wards, as well as their physical and mental health needs.
A research team at the University of Leicester has launched a study to learn more about these issues.
Study visits
The study will involve completion of autism-based questionnaire tests and an interview process
Services taking part
Limbrick Health Centre
Who to contact
Study Co-ordinator Hannah Gower
How to contact
Tel: 0114 2716315
Email: hannah.gower@shsc.nhs.uk
Who this study is aimed at?
Study summary
Hearing voices is one of the most common symptoms of schizophrenia. We aim to learn why some patients listen to and believe the content of distressing voices. This will enable the later development of psychological therapies which enable patients to disengage from distressing voice content.
Study visits
Services taking part
Limbrick Health Centre
Who to contact
Dr Andrew Horan, Local Principal Investigator, Recovery Service North
How to contact
Email: Andrew.Horan@shsc.nhs.uk
Tel: 0114 271 6217
Who this study is aimed at?
You can take part if you are 16 years and over and have heard voices for at least six months. We would like to invite the following groups of people to take part: people who have and have not had psychological therapy in the past, people who do and do not have a mental health diagnosis.
Study summary
There are lots of different types of psychological (talking) therapies for the experience of hearing distressing voices. However, there hasn’t been any research about patient preferences for these therapies. We would like to find out more about your preferences, for example:
We want to be able to publish this information in scientific and healthcare journals and conferences. This will help clinicians and researchers to develop and offer therapies that better match with the patients’ preferences.
Study visits
The study involves completing some questionnaires. These will include questions:
Who to contact
Research Development Unit
How to contact
Who this study is aimed at?
Patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease between the age of 50 to 90
Study summary
Many people may find their memory changes as they age. For most, it is a natural part of aging. For some however, it could be an indication of something more serious. For some, it could be Alzheimer’s Disease.
St Pancras Clinical Research is conducting a trial of an investigational drug for early stage Alzheimer’s, if you would like more information, please contact St Pancras Clinical Research at www.stpancrasclinicalresearch.com
Services taking part
Memory Service
Who to contact
Amanda Bennett, Research Nurse
How to contact
Who this study is aimed at?
NHS clinical staff whose job role involves direct patient contact and care provision will be eligible. Participants working in England the context of acute non-specialist NHS Trusts, acute specialist NHS Trusts, mental health NHS Trusts, NHS community care providers (including NHS Trusts, social enterprises and limited companies) and ambulance trusts will be eligible. Professionals in regional and special NHS Boards in Scotland, Local Health Boards and NHS Trusts in Wales, Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland and GP practices across the UK will be also eligible if job role involves direct patient contact and care provision.
Who can't take part
Those unwilling to give consent to participate, NHS non-clinical staff (e.g. administrators), Non-NHS staff, Public volunteers for the NHS.
Study summary
Participants (i.e. NHS clinical staff) will be invited to complete an online battery of self-report questionnaires exploring impact of COVID-related stressors on mental health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and burnout, and to investigate the effect of psychological markers of risk and resilience that might exacerbate or buffer the impact of COVID-related stressors on mental health. Participants will be invited to re-complete questionnaires after 4, 8, and 12 months. A subsample of participants will also be invited to take part in a qualitative interview to further explore their experiences
Services taking part
All clinical staff whose job role involves direct patient contact and care provision will be eligible.
How to contact
Click here.
Find out more
To find out more information, click here.
Who this study is aimed at?
Anybody.
Who can’t take part?
People under 16 years of age.
Study summary
The aim of this survey is to better understand how the Coronavirus and the restrictions necessary to prevent its spread are impacting on our day to day lifestyle. We hope to find out what is helpful for people during this time and also what may be causing some people to be affected more than others in terms of their wellbeing.
Study visits
One off survey.
Who to contact
Dr Peter Phiri
How to contact
peter.phiri@southernhealth.nhs.uk
Take part
To take part in the study, click here.
Who this study is aimed at?
Health and social care workers who live in a Sheffield postcode and are working in areas caring for people at higher risk of having or being exposed to COVID-19.
Who can’t take part?
People under 18 years of age or over 55 years of age, people who have tested positive for COVID-19, those who are pregnant, intending to become pregnant, or breastfeeding during the study and those who have previously taken part in a trial with an adenoviral vaccine or received any other Coronavirus vaccines.
Study summary
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and the University of Sheffield are involved in a number of national and local COVID-19 research studies to understand and support how we manage, treat and prevent infection.
One of the trials the Trust is about to start is a large multi-site study being led by Oxford University regarding the use of a potential vaccine.
This study involves at least 18 sites in the UK including Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and will enable them to assess how well people involved in care and healthcare delivery might be protected against COVID-19 with the new ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. The study will also provide valuable information on safety aspects of the vaccine and how well participants’ immune systems respond to immunisation with the vaccine.
Click here and carefully read all of the information about the study. This is a research study and so there are potential risks to taking part as well as benefits. It is important you consider the impact on you and your family members of taking part before volunteering.
Study visits
If you are accepted for the trial you will receive one or two doses of either the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or a licensed vaccine (MenACWY) which prevents meningococcal infection and will be used as a ‘control’ for comparison.
Up to 8 blood tests will be taken over the course of a year to check if there are any problems and to look at your immune responses to the vaccine.
For some participants there will be a diary to complete for up to 28 days following vaccination
There is a weekly questionnaire that monitors your and members of your households exposure to COVID-19
In order to monitor for exposure to COVID-19 in those who do not develop symptoms you may be asked to perform weekly nasal swabs or saliva collection.
The study will take a year to complete.
Who to contact
Clinical Research and Innovation Office at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
How to contact
Find out more
To find out more about this study, click here.
Who this study is aimed at?
Individuals working within the NHS who has recently worked for the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic
Who can’t take part?
People who are not NHS workers.
Study summary
As our NHS heroic staff you are under unprecedented levels of stress, which are likely adversely impacting your health and well-being. In order that we can better understand how to support you during such times, and ultimately improve your health and well-being, we would like to ask for your input into our research by answering the questions within a survey. These ask about your psychological and moral distress level, your perception of the importance of different types of support and coping mechanisms during COVID-19 pandemic working conditions.
Study visits
One off questionnaire.
Who to contact
Alison Stubbs
How to contact
Take part
To take the survey, click here.
Who this study is aimed at?
NHS and non-NHS health workers.
Who can’t take part?
People who are not NHS or non-NHS health workers.
Study summary
Questionnaire on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the mental health of participants. The nationwide study will allow us to understand the severity of this impact, the factors associated with a worse or resilience response; and importantly how the impact on mental health changes over time as the COVID-19 crisis evolves.
Study visits
One off questionnaire.
Who to contact
Alison Stubbs
How to contact
Take part
To take the survey, click here.
Who this study is aimed at?
Service users who are seeing treatment services in relation their alcohol use.
Who can’t take part?
Individuals with cognitive impairment or unable to understand and speak English.
Study summary
One off interview with a researcher.
Study visits
One.
Services taking part
Sheffield Treatment and Recovery Team.
Who to contact
Dr Olawale Lagundoye
How to contact
Who this study is aimed at?
Who can’t take part?
Study summary
This study involves:
Study visits
One visit of approximately two hours.
Services taking part
Older adult services at Edmund Road and the Longley Centre.
Who to contact
Dr Aparna Mordekar
How to contact
Find out more
To find out more about this study, click here.
Who this study is aimed at?
Service users who have recently had their first visit to the Decisions Unit.
Who can’t take part
Service users whose visit to the Decision Unit is not their first.
Study summary
This study involves answering six questions about quality of life when and again nine months later. Researchers will also ask our professionals how much you have used services, and which services you have used for your mental health in the nine months before and after your first admission to the Decisions Unit.
There is also an option to take part in two in-depth interviews about your experiences of crisis care in mental health services. If so, the first interview will be within a fortnight of you leaving the Decisions Unit and the second interview will be nine months later.
Study visits
One to two. The second questionnaire can be completed by post, with an option for a further two visits if you choose to take part in the additional in-depth interviews.
Services taking part
Decisions Unit.
Who to contact
Dr Raihan Talukdar
How to contact