NIHR ARC East Midlands part of new older people research

The NIHR has approved research plans for a consortium of Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) led by NIHR ARC Wessex with NIHR ARC Greater Manchester, NIHR ARC Yorkshire & Humber and NIHR ARC South West Peninsula.

The research programme is focused on the health challenges facing our growing older population. The programme will support three multi-regional projects that are as much about staying well as finding better ways to care for and treat people in later life. 

This consortium of ARCs will work across the NIHR ARC network in England as part of the NIHR National Priority Area research programme. The work is funded by an award of £1.8 million until September 2023.

The three projects are:

• FLEXI: Falls management exercise programme led by NIHR ARC East Midlands working with NIHR ARC Greater Manchester and NIHR ARC South West Peninsula
• WHELD: Training care home staff to improve well-being and mental health of dementia residents led by NIHR ARC South West Peninsula and working with NIHR ARC South London, NIHR ARC East Midlands, NIHR ARC East of England, NIHR ARC North East North Cumbria, NIHR ARC North West and NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber
• FinCH Implementation study: Falls prevention in care homes led by NIHR ARC East Midlands working with NIHR ARC North East North Cumbria, NIHR ARC West Midlands and NIHR ARC South London.

Professor Helen Roberts, from NIHR ARC Wessex leads the consortium of ARCs behind the research: “This is a fantastic opportunity to deliver research that will make a real difference to older people and their families. The research teams leading the three projects have spent many years collecting evidence to show that their interventions work. Now we can see how best to use these interventions in a range of real life situations across different parts of the country.”