The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria (ARC NENC) knowledge mobilisation programme aims to build capacity and capability, mobilise evidence to support decision making in organisations that support healthcare, and identify successful evidence-based interventions that can be adopted across our region and shared with other regions. The programme operates across all themes in ARC NENC which include:

• Prevention including multiple long-term conditions
• Addressing inequity in health and care systems
• Care improvement and safety
• Supporting children, women and family health
• Workforce inclusion and innovation for impact

Approaches

• The team includes a full-time Knowledge Mobilisation fellow in the core team reporting to the ARC NENC Implementation Lead, and embedded fellows with a practice background embedded in partner organisations in the region including the ICB, local authorities and NHS Trusts.
• Capability building in the region: By having KM fellows embedded in practice, we are building their capability, as well as that of the organisations they are in. Academic colleagues across the ARC NENC with specialist knowledge of KM and Implementation can provide initial training to KM fellows on KM frameworks and tools, which the fellows in turn can deliver to the wider ARC, drawing from their practice experience, and building on the sprint projects (below) to make it concrete. Please find more information about our KM fellows here.
• KM Sprints: KM fellows will work with key stakeholders to carry out evidence needs assessments and develop a programme of activity to support evidence-based decision making, and uptake of research evidence. This may include: rapid evidence reviews, round-table events with stakeholders and public members, identification of adoption-ready innovations, championing the role of KM, strengthening relationships in the region, and sharing relevant evidence in appropriate formats.
• Identify adoption-ready innovations: Working with colleagues in the ARC Knowledge Mobilisation Coordination Centre (KMCC), identify research and innovations developed in the NENC area that are ready for roll-out in other regions or ready for national adoption. Similarly, the KM fellows will identify research and innovations from other ARCs and Health Innovation Networks that are relevant to the NENC ICS.

KM Projects underway in ARC North East and North Cumbria

• Flu vaccines for healthcare workers

  Flu vaccines for healthcare workers

  Uptake rates of flu vaccination by frontline healthcare workers have been declining recently. As part of the winter preparation plans in the ICB, they are keen to inform this part of the winter plan with some information on what has been tried and works elsewhere or is evidence-backed.  

  Connections were made with known experts in this area, including members of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Behavioural and Social Sciences and the research team from the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. A search was conducted for existing evidence reviews on this topic.

  Relevant literature suggests three important domains related to the uptake of flu vaccinations amongst health care workers:

  1. Confidence,
  2. Motivation and
  3. Access.

  For each of these domains, key enablers and barriers were identified and presented to the ICB with recommendations for further analysis.

• Creative Health support for The Child Health and Wellbeing Network

  Creative Health

  The Child Health and Wellbeing Network has allocated some funding to secure professional PR support to develop and deliver a compelling awareness-raising campaign in line with the Network’s cross-cutting theme of arts and creativity. The campaign aims to encourage professionals working with children, young people and families across the North East and North Cumbria to embrace and promote creativity as a pathway to better health and wellbeing, as well as raising public awareness around the benefits of being involved in creative activities. 

  The Network team developing the campaign is keen to ensure clinicians are aware of the campaign, that they are assured any messaging is evidence-based, and that they are encouraged to have conversations about creative health as part of their practice.

  The KM Fellows team are proviuding an evidence review to compile and narrow down sources of evidence that best support the key aim of informing clinicians of the role creative health can play in their practice for the benefit of children and young people’s health and wellbeing. 

• Increasing MMR Vaccination uptake in children

  Increasing MMR Vaccination uptake in children 

  The uptake of the MMR vaccine in children is low in GP practices in some parts of NENC (not necessarily deep end practices). There is a strong desire amongst senior leaders in the ICB to improve this.

  Suggestions were made including writing to practices with lists of unvaccinated children or writing directly to parents.

  The KM Fellow team have searched for existing evidence reviews on this topic, these were analysed alongside pre-existing literature from the ICB and further exploration through extended networks. These sources of evidence will be used to identify interventions that have been trialled and, where possible, evaluated to present to the ICB to increase the uptake of MMR vaccination in children from areas with low uptake.

• Adoption and Spread

  Adoptiojn and Spread

  We are developing a register of adoption ready projects for the region that can be filtered according to controlled vocabulary to enable it to be searched to locate relevant projects that can be shared across the NENC region and across the country. 

• Capacity and Capability

  Capacity & Capability

  We are developing a training programme to be delivered to practitioners and researchers in our region. An interactive workshop has already been delivered and resources are being developed to facilitate online and in person training. 

Furthur information can be found on the ARC North East and North Cumbria website.

ARC NENC Knowledge Mobilisation Team

Implementation Lead

• Arne Wolters

Knowledge Mobilisation Fellows

• Catherine Richmond
• Jennifer Hicken
• Philip Mordue
• Sarah Norman

Communications Manager

• Nicola Weatherburn

Contact for further information

• Arne Wolters
  e: arne.wolters@cntw.nhs.uk