Staff from Oxford Health’s Clinical Research Facility (CRF) spent two engaging days at the UK CRF Network conference in Leicester from 4-5 July 2024. Although the event took place during the election, staff were reminded in advance to organise postal votes, and attendance was not affected.
The UK CRF Network consists of 54 CRFs across the UK and Ireland. CRFs are dedicated facilities, where NHS and University staff come together to run patient-oriented specialist early-phrase experimental research. As the only National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded mental and cognitive health CRF, staff had a unique opportunity to raise the profile of this important research field.
This year’s event featured a number of speakers including Professor Saul Faust, UKCRF Network Clinical Lead and Paul Brown, UKCRF Network Operational Director who presented a UKCRF network update and priorities for 2024-25.
There were around 550 attendees in total from Clinical Research Facilities across the UK. Eleven of those were staff members from OH CRF along with a public contributor. The team presented four posters at this year’s conference relating to:
- demographic data collection
- supporting research participants as they end study participation.
- the OH CRF Green Plan (sustainability)
- training staff in using rating scales.
One of the posters submitted by OH CRF staff on the day, “A Quality Improvement Project to identify and address research participants’ feedback when their study involvement ends”, designed by Jemima Littlejohns, Sugandika L. Gajaweera, Debbie Moll, and Amanda Colston, won the poster prize in the category of “Improving quality and sharing best practice”.
During one of the sessions, aimed at inclusion and involvement staff, OH CRF team members Debbie Moll and To Shunyantoto presented about collecting research participant demographics at OH CRF.
Debbie Moll, Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement & Participation (PPIEP) Lead at OH CRF said: “It was a privilege to attend the UKCRF Network conference in Leicester this year. Oxford Health CRF is the only NIHR-funded CRF dedicated to mental and cognitive health research. We had many opportunities to showcase our work and represent mental health research within this forum. The conference focussed on health inequalities and inclusive research opportunities, and we are excited to put our ideas into action over the coming year.”
The OH CRF public contributor commented on her experience at the event: “I want to thank Debbie and the team for the opportunity to attend a fantastic conference. Debbie led me through the entire process step by step, the support was unfaltering. I was excited to attend this year, particularly as the focus was on including the underserved community in research. The whole conference was very well organised and ran on time. There was also vegan food served at lunch. All the speakers were engaging, and I was riveted. I learned so much and would thoroughly recommend anyone attending the next conference. Debbie and the team were and still are extremely professional and supportive. Heartfelt thanks to you all.”
