Topic
Date published
09/01/2023
The five-year programme funded by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) through the NIHR will be co-chaired by ARC East Midlands Director Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE.
The cross-NIHR Collaboration will be given £1.95 million to bring together the NIHR’s translational, applied and policy research infrastructure. This will make it easier for researchers and organisations from different specialties and centres to tackle multiple long term-conditions (MLTC) research questions, such as how people with multiple conditions can best navigate the healthcare system. It has been established in response to the NIHR Strategic Framework for MLTC Research.
Co-chaired by Professor Khunti and Professor Avan Aihie Sayer, Director of NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, it will bring together representatives from all parts of the NIHR infrastructure through a newly established Steering Group.
Theme leads needed
Workstreams will be developed in three key areas of MLTC research: Models of Care, Interventions & Prevention and Methodologies and Cross-cutting themes. These will be enhanced by cross-cutting themes including quality of life, addressing health inequalities, capacity building and ensuring interdisciplinary research.
Those with experience in developing and delivering large-scale collaborative research and are interested in leading or co-leading one of the collaboration’s three identified workstream are needed. People interested should contact NIHR Senior Research Manager Jessica Goddard at jessica.goddard@nihr.ac.uk for more information.
Previous reaction
Speaking when the news of the funding was announced last month, Professor Khunti said: “This exciting initiative will help bring patient engagement activities together with all the NIHR infrastructures, third sector and industry partners enabling different specialities to collaborate on MLTC research. Another key part of the collaboration will be capacity development for researchers and patients.
“By working with colleagues from across the NIHR, but also with our partners, we are excited about what this collaboration can achieve and its potential to tackle the research questions that matter to people with MLTC and their carers.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive of the NIHR, also said: “A significant number of people across the UK are affected by multiple long term conditions, with real impacts on their health and well being, and on how they best receive care within the health service overall.
“We know that understanding and tackling this challenge requires a multidisciplinary approach so that researchers, those with multiple long-term conditions and their carers, and health and care professionals can come together in a coordinated way.
“This new collaboration will bring in expertise and infrastructure across the NIHR and facilitate working together with key partners across the research ecosystem.”