Information for patients and public

Illustration of a man standing at a crossroads facing two signposts pointing in different directions.

Learn about our research

  • Our research findings – link to our News page where we post stories about research findings from many of our studies.
  • Plain English summaries – link to our Research theme pages, where projects are listed by topic. When available, we provide links to Plain English summaries. We have just recently started adding Plain English summary links, so please bear with us as we bring this information up to date.
  • Project websites - There are also often links from projects listed on our Research theme pages to individual project websites. Project websites have more in-depth information, and many will have easy-to-read information for patients and the public.
  • Impact case studies – we are working on these and will share them with you when they are ready. They will tell you about how specific research projects have made a difference and what we hope will happen next.
  • Our YouTube channel – where we post videos with information about research findings.
  • Sign up for our newsletter – sign up to our research newsletter to keep up to date with all our research news. The newsletter is issued by email around four times a year.
  • Research at the University of Bristol – information about research across the whole of the University.
  • A-Z glossary of research terms - clear explanations of common research terms.

Visit our Help shape research pages to find out about the different ways you can help ensure our research is most useful to those who need it. This is often known as ‘Patient and Public Involvement’ or PPI for short.

People sometimes ask us how they can take part in a study that they are interested in. For example, someone whose child has eczema might want to take part in a study trying out different eczema treatments.

Many of our studies are run through GP practices, and they are responsible for selecting patients who can take part. Occasionally we advertise opportunities to take part in studies directly. 

For information on studies that are currently open to recruitment, whether through GP surgeries, other institutions or directly, see  'Study recruitment' on our Research themes page.

If you are interested in taking part in a study but are unsure how to take part, please email: phc-info@bristol.ac.uk.

See also:

Why take part in research? Information on why you might like to take part in research. Includes a video and transcript that has been translated into 10 different languages: Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, French, Gujarati, Mandarin, Polish, Punjabi, Somali and Urdu.

Be Part of Research – a free service which makes it easy to find and take part in vital health and care research across the UK. The service is run by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which is the biggest funder of health and care research in the UK. The NIHR is publicly funded through the Department of Health and Social Care. 

Unfortunately, we can't provide advice or guidance on medical issues to individuals, their family or carers.

If you have a health concern, please contact your family doctor (GP) in the first instance.

If it is an emergency, call 999. 

For general health information, the NHS website is a trusted source. 

See also: Information on other useful sources of healthcare help.

Primary care is the first point of contact for healthcare for most people. It is mainly provided by GPs (general practitioners), but pharmacists, opticians and dentists are also primary care providers. Find out more.

The University of Bristol is committed to fairness in access to and success in higher education. Find out more.