Pandemic increases dietary health inequalities in the East of England
Initial findings from an ARC East of England project show that lockdown measures have widened diet inequalities in the region. Relatively financially secure households have been able to spend time improving their diets during lockdown, while those struggling financially have experienced their diets worsening.
Job losses have meant that people in the region have sometimes had to engage with the benefits system and food banks for the first time, both of which were reported to be traumatic and disruptive experiences.
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Research finds no evidence to suggest that in-hospital care is worse for patients admitted at weekends
In 2013, the NHS in England launched the policy of seven-day services to improve care quality and outcomes for weekend emergency admissions. Now, research by ARC West Midlands researchers shows that hospital care quality of emergency admissions is not worse at weekends and has improved during implementation of the seven-day services policy.
Findings show that between 2012 - 2013 and 2016 - 2017, there was a reduction in error rates and adverse events, better care processes and higher global quality ratings.
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NIHR Public Interest Group call for a revamp of the UK's public health function
Professor Stephen Peckham, Director of ARC Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and a group of other leading senior investigators from the NIHR Senior Investigators Public Health Interest Group, are calling on government to rethink how public health is organised in the UK.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the group want to see a truly integrated public health function that will provide leadership and expertise nationally, regionally and locally within the NHS, local authorities, and local and national government.
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Learning from Greater Manchester’s communities during the pandemic
In collaboration with Health Innovation Manchester, ARC Greater Manchester is working with a range of public contributors as part of their Public and Community Involvement and Engagement (PCIE) Panel, and the new Greater Manchester PCIE Forum to help shape key research activity across the area. The Forum has been a platform for sharing experiences and learning during the pandemic, especially concerning inequalities for marginalised and seldom heard communities.
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Online seminar: COVID-19 and health inequalities – levelling up in our post-pandemic future
Catch up on this one-hour seminar which explores how health inequalities are interacting with COVID-19 to create a ‘syndemic pandemic’ effect. This is where closely intertwined and mutually enhancing health and social issues combine to exacerbate the impact of COVID-19. The seminar is delivered by Professor Clare Bambra, ARC North East and North Cumbria and Dr John Ford, ARC East of England, and is chaired by Dr Luke Munford, ARC Greater Manchester.
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Study supports link between traffic-related air pollution and mental disorders
Researchers at King’s College London, Imperial College London and the University of Leicester have found the first UK evidence that adults exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution are more likely to experience mental disorders. The researchers found that for incremental increases in very small particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, the odds of common mental disorders were increased by 18% to 39%. The study was funded by ARC South London and the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre.
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Project secures nearly £500k in funding to tackle HIV inequalities in Bristol's African and Caribbean communities
A major three-year-project is to launch in Bristol to work with people of African and Caribbean heritage to increase HIV testing and awareness and reduce the stigma of the virus. The project will be run by Brigstowe, a Bristol-based charity for people living with HIV, in partnership with African Voices Forum, Unity Sexual Health, Bristol City Council and Fast Track Cities Bristol. Researchers from ARC West will work in collaboration with community members to evaluate the project.
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Remote community monitoring to support action against the second COVID-19 wave
ARC Wessex has supported the University of Southampton IT Innovation Centre in a successful bid to NHSX, alongside North and Mid Hants Integrated Care Partnership and the Wessex AHSN, to deploy and scale remote community monitoring in COVID-19 virtual wards for patient emergency care. Community monitoring is important for early identification of patient deterioration and timely and appropriate interventions.
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Mental Health Facility at Torbay Hospital begins construction
The construction of a new £11.8 million Mental Health facility, supported by research undertaken as part of ARC South West Peninsula's Health Services Modelling Associates Programme, has begun at Devon Partnership NHS Trust’s Torbay Hospital. The scheme will reduce the need for patients to travel outside of Devon for treatment.
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Research to tackle mental health impact of COVID-19 receives £2 million boost
New research supported by ARC Oxford and Thames Valley and NIHR Oxford Health BRC will investigate the impact of the pandemic on mental health. The study will specifically focus on children and younger people, and will test whether a parent-led online therapy programme can help treat children who have anxiety.
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Public Adviser stories form powerful insight into COVID-19 impact
ARC North West Coast recently invited their public advisers to submit their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The stories have been abridged and presented in a rolling presentation on YouTube to enable readers to share the roller coaster of emotions, community spirit, individual endeavours and experiences of life through lockdown.
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No laughing matter: Sir Lenny Henry urges men to get tested for prostate cancer
Comedian Sir Lenny Henry CBE is urging men to take their prostate health seriously and “overcome the embarrassment” of being tested, revealing it is no laughing matter. The comic, actor, singer, writer and TV presenter is supporting the work of the #PlayDominoTalkProstate initiative launched by the Leicester-based Centre for BME Health, which is partially funded by ARC East Midlands.
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The land war in the fight against COVID-19
Gone are the days of thinking there is a quick fix to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this blog, Professor Richard Lilford, Dr Sam Watson and Professor Peter Diggle discuss how the battle against COVID-19 must go local and why policymakers should increasingly turn to local communities and ask them to be the architects, not recipients, of policy.
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COVID-19 and social care: the withdrawal of support services has negatively affected both people with dementia and their unpaid carers
Clarissa Giebel, a Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool and ARC North West Coast, writes about her research into the effect of the sudden withdrawal of social support services for people with dementia and their carers due to COVID-19 public health measures.
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IF Festival catch up: Professor Cathy Creswell on 'Childhood anxiety – helping parents help their children'
Problems with anxiety are common, with roots often in childhood. Yet support for children and their families is all too rare. In this talk, Professor Cathy Creswell explores a range of evidence-based ways for parents to help their children overcome problems with anxiety.
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IF Festival catch up: Professor Susan Jebb on 'Why losing a few pounds may be good for you – and the NHS.'
In this online talk, Professor Susan Jebb examines evidence for the health benefits of losing weight, why even short-term, supported weight loss programmes may be good in the long-term for people who are overweight and how, by losing just a small amount, together we can make a big difference to the nation’s health.
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The transition from in-person meetings to online: University of Hertfordshire Young People’s Research Advisory Group
ARC East of England's Young People’s Research Advisory Group (YPAG) was established in early 2020 and was only able to meet in person once before having to move meetings online. In this blog, members of the YPAG explore how lockdown has affected the group and the pros and cons of online meetings.
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The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: an interview with Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft
In September, Sir Graham Thornicroft, Professor of Community Psychiatry at King’s College London and the ARC South London’s Director gave evidence to an All-Party Parliamentary Group on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here he discusses the evidence.
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Anna’s journey – from community nurse to PhD – health, help and growth
Anna Badley's journey into research has been far from traditional. In Anna's blog, she reflects on what led her into research and how, with the help of ARC Wessex, she has achieved a long-held dream. Read how she made that decision and what help there is out there.
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Building successful academic careers – video releases
To mark the NIHR #YourPathInResearch campaign, ARC Greater Manchester (GM) has released a series of videos where four influential professors from Greater Manchester talk about their research and academic career paths. Follow the links below to watch each one:
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Transforming services post COVID-19 and beyond
5 November, midday to 12:45pm
Location: Online
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The next conversation in this series is with Kirsty Doull, Permanence Lead at the Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection at the University of Strathclyde and Pamela Hoey, a Social Work Area Manager at Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, who will discuss the uses and significance of improvement and implementation methodologies for securing children’s permanence before, during and after COVID-19.
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Social care with public health & co-production
6 November, 11am to 1pm
Location: Online
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Join ARC Kent, Surrey and Sussex to hear how they are supporting the development of evidence-based practice and research capacity in social care. There will also be time to learn about the ARC's COVID-19 response projects, and how the emerging findings from these studies can be used to support our health and social care system throughout the pandemic.
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Transforming services post COVID-19 and beyond
19 November, midday to 12:45pm
Location: Online
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Dr Nicola Burgess, Warwick Business School, and Helen Gilbert, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will talk about using quality improvement methods to rapidly improve turnaround times for COVID-19 testing.
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ARC Northwest London online learning event
19 November, 1:30pm to 4:30pm
Location: Online
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This event will welcome delegates old and new involved with ARC Northwest London. Delegates will have an opportunity to hear from the ARC's themes and from plenary speakers on ‘enabling person centred care’ and ‘personalising care’. You will also be able to participate in a panel discussion on ‘health and wellbeing: making it easy to get involved’.
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Applied social care research using routine data: potential and challenges
10 December, 10am to 3pm
Location: Online
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Using routine data for research is often thought of as a panacea, but anyone who’s tried it will know it isn’t easy. Join ARC West and Health Data Research UK for an online conference exploring the challenges and potential of using routine data in applied social care research.
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