Who can participate in the research project?
The Oceans of Hope research Project consists of a package of questionnaires and will be offered to new crew sailing with us in 2023. It is completely voluntary and does not affect the possibilities of going sailing with us. The study will ask people questions before and after they have gone sailing with Oceans of Hope to see if there is any difference in their answers in respect of quality of life and other important parameters. Therefore only people who haven´t sailed with us before can participate in the study.
What does the research investigate and why?
In the Oceans of Hope Research Project we look into factors such as experience of symptoms, quality of life, empowerment & self-efficacy, anxiety & depression and social capital. We already know from the hundreds of testimonials from our crew that Oceans of Hope often has a life changing effect. With the research we do not, of course, intend to question these personal experiences. On the contrary. We aim to be able to describe more systematically what happens to people in Oceans of Hope. By doing this we can get into dialogue with others doing similar things as us and we can hopefully affect the mindset of decision and policy makers in their understanding of what it is like to live with a chronic disease and hence improve the possibilities for people with MS. The preliminary results from the pilot study are very promising.
Who is conducting the Oceans of Hope Research Project?
The Oceans of Hope Research Project is lead by Dr. Mikkel Anthonisen together with volunteer members of both the Danish and the UK Oceans of Hope team. The researchers include some of the leading on their field in MS. Perhaps the most acknowledged being professor Gavin Giovannoni from the Blizard Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary´s Hospital of London. The project will, of course, meet all the scientific, legal and ethical standards required.
