Thank you for your interest in taking part in this research programme to investigate and document how effectively Microbiome Analysis recommendations improve health outcomes. 

 

We invite all Microbiome Group clients to consider taking part in our research programme upon booking their first consultation. Participation is entirely voluntary, it involves no additional cost to you and you can withdraw any time. It will contribute vital data on how individualised treatment plans can support microbiome health.

 

Your practitioner will not know whether you take part in the research study. Participating in the study, or withdrawing, will not affect the standard of care you receive from the Microbiome Group. If you choose to take part you will be asked to indicate your consent using the online form below. Your consent should be based on the details in this information sheet, and we encourage you to save a copy for future reference. 

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What does the research involve?

You will receive treatment from your Microbiome Group practitioner as usual. The research programme will monitor results over a 12-month period. It’s most helpful to have information for the full 12 months, but we will be grateful for data covering any part of that period (or more)!

 

All participants are requested to complete a consent form and one general symptom survey, and some will complete two further surveys – depending on their symptoms at the start of treatment. They are almost entirely quick, multiple choice or tick-box questions, with the longest survey being 44 tick-box questions. You will be asked to repeat those at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after commencing treatment so we can track changes in your symptoms. 

 

These surveys are based on research instruments that have been validated in peer-reviewed studies as accurate measures of changes in symptoms – this is vital for robust research data.

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For full details, please read this information sheet.

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Yes! I want to take part!

Please save the information sheet. Then, as soon as you have your first consultation booked in, please add your email address and opt in below, to access the consent form and symptom surveys. Please complete these now; before you start your individualised treatment recommendations. Opting in also subscribes you to four automated emails requesting your input at the 3-month intervals during the study period. After the last email, you won't receive any further emails about contributing to this research programme (although you may choose to continue contributing).

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All information collected about you will be kept confidential in accordance with UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation, as set out in the Microbiome Group privacy policy. Anonymised data and the findings of this study may be published in a variety of formats, such as online articles, social media posts, and possibly in printed formats such as professional journals.

 

Taking part in this research programme will contribute to the wider evidence base about the effectiveness of microbiome interventions in the treatment of health conditions, including Long Covid, which we hope will benefit others – thank you so much!