Why do we need support groups for patient recruitment?

Support groups provide a place for patients and family members to come together to educate, comfort and give strength to one another when dealing with disease or illness. With thousands of members who also fit a variety of research criteria, support groups not only greatly benefit patients, but are also a vital source for patient recruitment in medical fieldwork, enabling researchers to reach out to a totally new sample of respondents. Support groups often have various ways of contacting patients – whether online, through written newsletters, via social media and websites or during face-to-face group sessions – meaning that they can not only help spread the word to their members about upcoming research projects, but that the respondents are also easy to contact and can be sourced according to individual market research projects. Patients will also be more likely to participate if the invite for the research is coming from a source they trust such as a support group.

Defining the junior doctor

Junior doctors are the clinical leaders of the future and make up approximately half of today’s medical workforce. Statistics from 2014 actually suggest this number may be even higher, with junior doctors making up 61,510 of a total 104,912 doctors in the UK. In some specialist areas, junior doctors account for an even greater percentage of the workforce; in A&E 4,560 of the 6,148 doctors are junior doctors, whilst in Paedeatrics there are 5,033 junior doctors compared to just 2,836 consultants.

What is haemophilia? 

Haemophilia is an inherited disorder affecting the body’s ability to clot. Normally when somebody cuts themselves, clotting factors and platelets combine to make the blood stickier and make the bleeding stop. When someone suffers from haemophilia, bleeding episodes will last longer due to abnormal clotting. Bruising can also occur more easily, and it is not uncommon for spontaneous bleeding to occur. The main problem for haemophiliacs is internal bleeding into joints, muscles and soft tissues, which can cause pain and stiffness as well as leading to joint damage.

The United Kingdom is officially a nation of allergy sufferers. According to recent studies, 21 million adults in the UK have an allergy, whilst 50% of children and young people suffer with one or more allergies – with that number increasing to 60-80% if their parents have allergies too. 

Why is it so hard to find a true Allergist for medical market research? 

Children and young people are a vital demographic in all fields of market research; they often give more honest answers than adults and can provide a wealth of insights and information. However, conducting medical market research with younger demographics – is a very sensitive process and not without its share of difficulties. Not only are there a number of rigorous rules and regulations that must be followed to ensure the safe and ethical conduction of research, but it is often much harder to communicate with children and analysing the information gathered can also be problematic.