Part 3 - Health Research & Me
Research is conducted using human health information, biological materials or human participation, with the aim to develop better healthcare.
The increase in life expectancy of humans over the past century is largely due to advances resulting from research. Also, the 5-year cancer survival rate has increased significantly due to earlier diagnosis and improved cancer treatments (2).
Research requires the participation of large number of volunteers. Because it often take years before its benefits can be experienced in healthcare, you might not directly benefit from the research projects that you participate in, but it will benefit our next generation. Afterall, the improvement in the healthcare that we experienced now is a result of volunteers who contributed to research in the past.