Wide-ranging Applied Health and Care research projects funded across Greater Manchester

Earlier this year, the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) Applied Health and Care Research Group, a joint initiative between MAHSC and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM), awarded close to £190,000 in funding to support cross-discipline, multi-institution, research-led projects that have the potential to generate health and social care impact and benefits to people and communities, patients, and carers. 

This followed a funding opportunity, developed to support applied health and care research aligned with the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership strategy 2022-2028 and Greater Manchester’s 5-year Joint Forward Plan.

Following a fantastic response, the five projects selected for funding were:

• Dr Petra Kolić, Senior Lecturer (Sports Coaching), Manchester Metropolitan University. Project titled: ‘Co-creation with pupils and educators to overcome menstrual stigma in secondary schools’.

• Dr Susanne Langer, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University. Project titled: ‘A participatory scoping study of experiences of unpaid care giving among members of the ‘sandwich generation’ in Greater Manchester communities’. 

• Dr Stephen Kaar, Consultant Addictions Psychiatrist, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Project titled: ‘Early Detection In Fibrosis (EDIF): Evaluation of the implementation of a novel liver fibrosis screening pathway in homeless and hard to reach dependent alcohol users in Greater Manchester’.

• Dr Peter Goodwin, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, Manchester Metropolitan University. Project titled: ‘Optimising care in the GM Major Trauma Enhanced Rehabilitation Service (MTERS) using population segmentation (Health Styles): a multi-methods feasibility study’.

• Dr Sarah Prenton, Lecturer in Physiotherapy, the University of Salford. Project titled: ‘Make Every Contact Count More: The co-design and preliminary evaluation of an enhanced abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme to improve uptake and offer additional risk factor/co-morbidity identification and management’.

Further information on each of the funded projects will be highlighted in a series of articles at a future date. 

A key aim of the Group is to complement working with ARC-GM/MAHSC/Health Innovation Manchester to accelerate excellence in health and social care research and education, and in service-user, patient and carer care and support. Central to this is an emphasis on the inclusion of under-served groups in research, with the funding opportunity requiring projects to demonstrable Public and Community Involvement (PPIE), and representation/inclusion of voluntary sector partners encouraged.

This aligns with both the NIHR ARC-GM Public and Community Involvement and Engagement Strategy 2020-2024, Working Together to Make a Positive Difference, and Health Innovation Manchester’s 2024-27 Strategy, Innovation with Impact, where Public and Community Involvement & Engagement (PCIE) sits at the very heart and remains a key enabler in the delivery of our work.

Further MAHSC Funding Opportunities 

Funding opportunities in each MAHSC domain are announced throughout the year. Find out more here. 

Published 29/07/2024