How to contribute personal ADHD focus data to science 

If you live with ADHD, your everyday experiences of focus, attention, and motivation could help advance research. Modern UK health science now invites people to share data about how their minds work through secure, ethical, and voluntary research pathways. 

How ADHD data contributes to research 

According to the UK Health Research Authority (HRA), the NHS Research Ethics Committees oversee all studies that collect neurocognitive or behavioural data. This ensures participants’ privacy and consent are protected under the UK Data Protection Act and GDPR. 

Projects such as the UK Biobank and Health Data Research UK now accept volunteers who wish to share information about their attention, cognition, and health in secure digital environments. Participants can also re-consent at any time, maintaining full control over their information. 

Ways to share ADHD focus data 

Recent studies, such as the ADHD Remote Technology (ART) project, show how smartphone and wearable data can be used to study real-world attention. Volunteers install approved research apps that collect anonymised information about response times, daily activity, and focus variability. This kind of “digital phenotyping” helps scientists understand how ADHD attention fluctuates beyond lab settings. 

University research portals and NHS-approved digital health studies also welcome volunteers interested in contributing to attention and focus-tracking research. Many of these use short self-report surveys or eye-tracking tools to build datasets that improve future diagnosis and treatment understanding. 

Privacy, ethics, and control 

Your neurodata is considered highly sensitive personal information. NHS and GDPR frameworks require full transparency about how it is stored, shared, and used. Participants can always withdraw, access, or correct their data. Studies reviewed by the HRA must show how consent is obtained, how data is encrypted, and how participant rights are protected. 

Ethical ADHD research increasingly includes patient and public involvement (PPI), meaning people with lived experience help design studies and decide what questions matter most. This ensures that participation feels collaborative rather than extractive. 

Private assessment providers such as ADHD Certify also contribute anonymised clinical insights to UK-wide research networks, helping improve diagnostic accuracy and understanding of attention variability. 

The takeaway 

From NHS-approved studies to secure citizen science platforms, individuals with ADHD can play a meaningful role in shaping future research. By contributing personal focus data responsibly, participants help scientists better understand attention, motivation, and real-world experience, while retaining full ownership and privacy of their information.