Chief Scientific Advisor praises SPHR research responding to local needs

One of the government’s top scientific advisors visited representatives from NIHR School for Public Health Research (NIHR SPHR) and Public Health South Tees, to understand how research can help address public health challenges in Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland, including promoting healthier diets.

Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and Social Care and lead of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) – the nation’s largest funder of health and social care research was given a tour of the Live Well Centre in Middlesbrough, which offers a wide range of support to people in Middlesbrough who want to lead healthier and happier lives. At the Centre, Professor Whitty heard about the Healthy Takeaway Masterclasses, an intervention developed as part of the NIHR SPHR funded Foodscape study, which is testing methods for promoting healthier takeaway food. The study was led by SPHR researchers from Fuse in collaboration with SPHR researchers from University of Cambridge and University of Exeter, alongside practice partners from Public Health South Tees.

During the Masterclasses, takeaway owners and staff in Redcar and Cleveland are provided with a range of nutritional improvement opportunities and asked to pledge to provide at least one healthier food option. Since taking part in the Masterclass sessions, many takeaway outlets have reporting achieving their pledged target with the most popular changes requiring minimal effort and cost, for example, by reducing sugar or salt, or using semi-skimmed instead of whole milk.

Speaking about his visit, Professor Whitty said: “Research on a public health issue can take place in many settings but is at its best when the research focuses on an area where that public health issue is common and researchers work with the local public health teams.

“Collaborations between South Tees Council and NIHR-funded researchers, such as the Healthy Takeaway Masterclasses, are an excellent example of research responding to the local need in Middlesbrough.”

More information here.

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Course: Driving social change and improving health and wellbeing: An introduction to systems resilience
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Please submit recent news or publications for inclusion in the next SPHR internal bulletin to sphr@Newcastle.ac.uk

Funding Opportunities
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The Department of Sport & Exercise Sciences is delighted to offer a PhD Studentship Opportunity, in partnership with TASS – Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme. The Studentship offers full UK / EU rate tuition fees, an annual stipend of £14,500 as well as access to a research training support grant. The project will involve work with athletes, support staff, National Governing Bodies and dual career systems within the UK, considering how best such systems and processes can be equitable, inclusive and engaging a diverse cohort of athletes, aiming to develop our understanding of how inclusion and exclusion are experienced, and how motivation and engagement are affected and overcome by those facing barriers to participation. TASS will support the project enabling the scholar to gain insight and experience of UK sporting organisations as well as providing routes for disseminating findings. Deadline for applications is 1 July 2019. More information here.

Call for ambitious data-enabled trials, health services and public health research studies
The HTA, HS&DR and PHR programmes are interested in funding studies using innovative data-enabled designs to answer pressing knowledge gaps for health, public health and, or social care evidence users, NHS patients, people with lived experience and, or policy makers. Deadline for stage 1 applications is 1pm, 4 September 2019. More information here.

Understanding the potential of place to impact health and health inequalities
The Public Health Research Programme is interested in research on place-based interventions to improve health and to reduce health inequalities. The environment around us can impact our mental and physical health and influence our health-related behaviours and choices. Some places, buildings and spaces can be health-promoting whilst others may have the opposite effect. Proposals are encouraged that look upstream or take a broader, whole system perspective which looks at the impact of place as an integrated whole. Deadline for submission is 1pm, 12 November 2019. More information here.

Events, Conferences & workshops
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The PHE annual conference brings together over 1,500 participants from a wide range of organisations to learn and share knowledge and experience to help improve public health. Over two days there will be the opportunity to learn, share experience and network. The five track conference programme is focusing on some of the areas where we can collectively make the greatest improvements in health and reduce health inequalities.
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If you would like an item to be included in the next SPHR internal bulletin please contact sphr@newcastle.ac.uk