Heartburn Health Check: Nottingham

Do you live in Nottingham? We need you!

We’re looking for people to attend a practice health research appointment for Project COMPASS, taking place in Boots stores across the country.

Project COMPASS is an evaluation of the effectiveness of conducting the capsule sponge test (Heartburn Health Check), for early detection of conditions of the food pipe (oesophagus), in a pharmacy setting. It is used to detect signs of oesophageal cancer, and Barrett’s oesophagus, a condition which can progress to cancer if not treated.

As part of this programme, they are looking for people to attend a 30-minute practice health research appointment at a participating Boots store to test their procedures with a member of staff who is newly trained in how to do the capsule sponge test. As a thank you for your time and input, you’ll receive £50 for taking part.

Please note – during this appointment you will be asked to take part in the capsule sponge test. This involves swallowing a small capsule attached to a thread. After approximately 7 minutes, the capsule dissolves in the stomach and opens into a small sponge. The sponge is then gently withdrawn using the thread, collecting cells from the oesophagus as it is removed.

The appointment will take around 30 minutes in total. This includes the time needed to swallow the capsule, wait for it to dissolve, and then retrieve the sponge. The samples obtained from volunteers during this appointment will not be analysed.

When completing the form please answer carefully and as honestly as possible, there are no right or wrong answers, all answers will be looked at individually when checking that you are applicable for the research.

If it looks like you’ll be a fit for the research based on your application, a member of the team will be in touch to go through a couple of questions and see if we can get you booked in to take part.