Collaborators: University of Southampton, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS), University of Sheffield

Project team: Patricia Fuller, Andy Claxton, Helen Pocock, Nicola Claxton, Amanda Wollam, Daniel Blackburn, George Devitt, Sarah Fearn, Chris Kipps.

Start Date: 14th July 2025

End Date: 13th July 2026

Project Summary

Many people are interested in taking part in dementia research but do not know how to get involved, are unsure about what participation would involve, or do not feel that research is for people like them. As a result, studies often struggle to recruit enough participants, and those who do take part may not reflect the wider population.

ACCESS D developed and tested a community-based model to make dementia research more visible, accessible, and easier to take part in. Instead of expecting people to come into clinical or university settings, ACCESS D brought research opportunities into familiar community venues and provided real-time support from South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) research paramedics and nurses.

The model was shaped through co-production workshops with public contributors and community stakeholders, which helped define the format, language, and support needed to make research feel approachable and relevant.

Early findings show that 71% of participants had not previously heard about research, and 91% reported a positive experience of taking part. Many also said they would be interested in hearing about future dementia research opportunities. These findings suggest that there is substantial hidden interest in dementia research, but that access, visibility, and support are key.

ACCESS D shows that recruitment is better understood as a pathway from awareness to participation, rather than a single step.

What have we done with our new knowledge?

•The findings from ACCESS D are already being used to inform practice, shape discussions with national research infrastructure, and support wider dissemination and future adoption.

•First, they provide a practical basis for designing more inclusive recruitment pathways. ACCESS D demonstrates that community-based, supported approaches can reach people who are not engaged through traditional routes, helping research feel more visible, understandable, and relevant. This is particularly important for groups who are currently under-represented in dementia research.

•Second, the work is informing discussions with the NIHR Research Delivery Network about alternative approaches to recruitment for NIHR portfolio studies. ACCESS D highlights that recruitment efficiency is not only about identifying eligible participants, but also about creating the conditions in which participation feels possible. This has implications for how recruitment pathways are designed, particularly where studies struggle to recruit to time and target.

•Third, the findings are supporting the development of community-based approaches to research delivery that extend beyond conventional clinical settings. This includes exploring how trusted, community-facing services, such as ambulance teams and other outreach services, could help widen access to research.

•Fourth, ACCESS D is contributing to the development of practical tools to support wider adoption. This includes co-produced visual materials to help future participants understand research, and a toolkit to help research teams design more inclusive and supported approaches to recruitment.

•Finally, the work is being disseminated through academic and practice-focused channels. The study protocol has been published as a preprint and submitted for peer review, helping to make the model visible to wider research and delivery audiences.

What next?

•ACCESS D has demonstrated early feasibility and is now moving towards wider implementation and further testing.

•The next phase will focus on delivering the model across a broader range of teams, settings, and communities, and on understanding its impact on progression into dementia research opportunities. A key question is whether this approach can improve recruitment to time and target in NIHR portfolio studies by reaching people earlier, reducing uncertainty, and reducing avoidable drop-out.

•Alongside this, ACCESS D will produce co-produced visual resources, a practical toolkit, and a training approach to support wider adoption. This will help move the work from a single feasibility study towards a transferable model that can be used and adapted by other teams.

•ACCESS D has been designed in a way that supports future scalability and transferability. It uses existing trusted workforce roles, adaptable community settings, and low-burden research activities, allowing it to be implemented in different contexts while retaining its core principles. This gives it potential relevance beyond dementia, particularly in areas where research participation is limited by access barriers, uncertainty, or lack of visible routes into research.

•Longer term, ACCESS D has the potential to contribute to a more inclusive and efficient model of community-based research delivery, aligned with NIHR priorities around inclusion, decentralised research, and improved recruitment performance.

•This next stage is being supported through a staged funding approach, including University of Southampton Public Engagement with Research (PERU) funding for co-produced outputs, and Dementia Translational Research Collaboration (D-TRC) funding for further analysis and development. Earlier pilot delivery was supported through strategic SCRRDN funding.