Our Future Health in Scotland: ‘It’s wonderful to see how many Scots want the best for one another and are taking part’
Our Future Health’s first Scottish clinics are in Ayr, Dunfermline, East Kilbride, Glasgow Fort, Greenock, Irvine, Kirkcaldy and The Gyle
Scotland, land of the brave. Since our first clinics opened north of the border in July, we’ve seen a groundswell of support from people living in Scotland. Appointments have been fully booked, as volunteers step up to join the UK’s largest health research programme.
Everyone’s contribution is important. The burden of disease in Scotland is projected to rise by 21% over the next two decades. By joining Our Future Health, our volunteers in Scotland are providing information that will help health researchers to understand how diseases begin and progress.
We visited our clinics in Edinburgh and Glasgow to meet some of the first volunteers to join Our Future Health in Scotland.
Sowing the seeds of change in healthcare
Retired primary school teacher Linda Black joined during our first month in Edinburgh. She’d read about our programme in a BBC article.
“I saw that Professor of Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, Linda Bauld, and the Scottish Government were backing it, which gave me great confidence,” said Linda.
“My mother lived to be 81, but during her lifetime was diagnosed with five different types of cancer. She was a nursing matron and made of incredibly strong stuff, but it was thinking about what she went through that pushed me to join Our Future Health.
“Anything supporting cancer research is worth spending a bit of my time to help.”
53-year-old Babiker Gatib also attended his Our Future Health appointment in Edinburgh.
“I believe the information being collected will change people’s lives for the better,” said Babiker. “I’m over 50 now and have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Both my mother and father suffered with these too, and each of my siblings has one or the other. Unfortunately, I inherited both.
“It would be fantastic if my contribution helps Our Future Health to find new ways to manage chronic inherited conditions – for me, and for others.”
Volunteer Luisa Pedro, 44, is a lecturer in cancer research from Glasgow. One big change she’d like to see in health research is better representation.
“Many people from minority ethnic communities are apprehensive or unable to take part in health research,” said Luisa. “We also know there are some diseases that are more prevalent in those groups, but because of under-representation in research, it’s not always understood why or what the best treatments are.
“If Our Future Health builds a dataset that includes people of all backgrounds, that would be a great way to improve health outcomes for everyone.
“Taking part doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t take much time, and it has the potential to benefit millions of people. Maybe I won’t see the changes, but I’m hopeful my son’s generation will.”
‘We’ve already opened five clinics – and more are coming’
Scotland Stakeholder Manager at Our Future Health and proud Glaswegian Kate Feeney said she’s delighted by the response to programme so far.
“To be the first of the devolved nations to welcome Our Future Health is fantastic and I’m just super pleased. Some volunteers I’ve chatted with at our clinics told me they’d been trying to get an appointment for a while and thought they’d have to go south of the border to get one. Now they don’t have to, which is great.
“We have five clinics here already, and we’ll have even more by the end of the year. It’s wonderful to see how many Scots are taking part and want the best for one another.
“If you’re in Scotland, your friends and family are here, and you care about the long-term health of the people you love and beyond, then signing up to Our Future Health will make you feel good to have made that contribution.”
Our Future Health is rolling out on a region-by-region basis and inviting adults across the UK to take part. Those who don’t live near an open Our Future Health clinic can still sign up. They’ll then be notified as new clinic locations are added. The latest locations will also be announced on our website and social media channels.
Let’s prevent disease together
By volunteering for Our Future Health, you can help health researchers discover new ways to prevent, detect and treat common conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s.