The SDRN was commissioned in 2006 by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Government to improve the quality and increase the quantity of diabetes research in Scotland, as part of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC).

Aims

• establish an integrated diabetes research infrastructure between the four major academic centres in Scotland and associated managed clinical networks
• increase the volume of high quality commercial and academic clinical trials and increase recruitment throughout Scotland
• provide a platform for high quality, unintrusive epidemiology on a national level

Hospitals/GP Surgeries can register as part of SDRN and take part in clinical trials, either by conducting the research themselves or by referring patients to larger secondary care sites. Registration is a straightforward process and sites who would like to become involved should contact Shona Brearley, SDRN Manager on 01382 660111 x 34594.

SDRN is also piloting a Research Register for patients wishing to take part in research. The recording of permission to contact these patients directly about studies they may be interested in on SCI-DC will make recruiting for research more focussed and easier to conduct. It is hoped the Research Register will be rolled out nationally within the next few months.

Using securely anonymised data from SCI-DC and other sources, SDRN will be able to conduct national epidemiological research which may help with planning diabetes services and resources in the future.

If you have any questions about SDRN, or would like to become a registered site please contact Paul McIntosh, SDRN Administrator on 01382 660111 x 34594.

Aims of Clinical Study Group

The primary objective of this group is to foster good collaboration between diabetes HCPs in the writing of academic protocols for research and successful grant applications. This group will examine the portfolio of research studies within Scotland and will try to address any specific research needs pertinent to the case of people with diabetes.

Medical research standardises the way it measures certain procedures, eg. taking blood samples, measuring blood pressure. So that all procedures in research studies are standardised across Scotland, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been issued to all sites in Scotland doing research with SDRN.

Aims of Epidemiology Study Group

A primary objective of SDRN is to provide a platform for high quality, national unintrusive epidemiological research. The SCI-DC database contains detailed information about all patients with diabetes in Scotland which means that the information, once appropriately anonymised, can be linked to other national databases, e.g. hospital admissions, to provide national answers to many epidemiological questions. As well as answering pertinent research questions, the studies coming from the SDRN Epidemiology Study Group will have a knock-on effect on service development and planning for patients with diabetes in Scotland.

The SDRN Epidemiology Study Group would like to encourage researchers to put forward proposals for epidemiology studies to the group. There are SOPs, available on this website, which contains detailed information on how to access the group and the process for running your study. This group can advise on all aspects of research governance for your study from writing the protocol through the regulatory approval process to analysing the data and publishing the results.