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Mental Health Hub Aim: To build applied health research capability and capacity to enable research-led mental health services across the lifespan in pressing areas of mental health linked to substantial health inequalities in our region. Objectives: Strengthening Wessex’s capacity and capability to conduct high quality mental health research in populations with high mental health burden Working collaboratively with a range of organisations and the public to address current mismatch between mental health research need and evidence-based health, care, and public service response Enhancing capacity and capability of mental health services to incorporate findings of research into care pathways, so improving the effectiveness, efficiency, safety and quality of mental health care and commissioning of mental health services. Our research projects Developing Pathways for older adults who are also drinking at increased-risk levels Older adults Alcohol Pathway (OAP) Read more Gambling and Alcohol Use Addiction in Military Veterans Read more Comparative Effectiveness of Methylphenidate vs. Second‑ and Third‑Line Medications for Children with Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Read more Social Prescribing Link Workers framework: supporting complex needs of adults living with physical and mental health long term conditions Read more Identifying the knowledge gaps of paramedics managing patients with mental health issues Read more ADOPTED: Gambling in the UK: An analysis of data from individuals seeking treatment at the NHS Southern Gambling Service Read more COMPLETED: Understanding psychosocial determinants of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in older adults: exploring the role of social networks and loneliness in living with AUD (OLA study 2). Read more COMPLETED: Development of a core outcome set for nurse wellbeing: a Delphi study Read more COMPLETED: Work lives and Wellbeing of Mental Health Nursing Workforce Read more COMPLETED: Understanding, addressing, and meeting the complex needs of people living with long term physical and mental health conditions: a qualitative study Read more Pharmacological And Non-Pharmacological treatment of ADHD in Pre-schoolers: a systematic review and network meta-analysis: the PANPAP study Read more Adolescent Resilience to OVercome Adversity: EmpoweRment and intervention development – the ROVER study Read more COMPLETED: Mental health Burden of Increased Living costs: Local Support (My BILLS) Read more COMPLETED: Understanding the psychosocial needs and trajectories of older adults (>64 years) with alcohol use disorder (AUD) from hospital back into community Read more Mental health projects Mental Health Hub lead Professor Sam Chamberlain Mental Health Hub lead Ageing and Dementia - promotion of healthy ageing by implementing and evaluating strategies to address alcohol use disorder, loneliness, and isolation. Workstream co-leads: Professor Julia Sinclair Healthy Communities - developing, implementing and evaluating strategies to identify young people at risk of mental health conditions (including addictions like alcohol & gambling), promote early intervention and successful care transitions and bolster resilience. Workstream co-leads: Professor Samuele Cortese and Professor Anne-Sophie Darlington Long-Term Conditions - enhancing evidence-based support for those with long term mental health disorders, like treatment-resistant anxiety and depression, and approaches to mobilising community systems of support and fostering resilience, including social prescribing. Workstream co-leads: Professor MC Portillo and Professor David Baldwin Workforce and Health Systems - develop and test evidence-based interventions matched to staff need and the organisational and professional context, to promote mental health, wellbeing and resilience in workforce providing care and treatment to people with mental health problems. Workstream co-leads: Dr Natasha Campling and Associate Professor Ursula Rolfe Our Post-Doctoral Fellows Laila Khawaja Research Fellow Profile Miguel Garcia-Argibay Senior Research Fellow Profile Gabrielle Palermo Senior Research Assistant Profile Stephanie Hughes Research Fellow Profile Skaiste Linceviciute Research Fellow Profile Francesca Zecchinato Research Fellow Profile Mental Health Play Video All Videos

aa75ad77-b86e-4c22-9025-b483ba6076b2 COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Geospatial mapping of emergency calls from older adults to ambulance services in the South Central region, with a focus on people living with dementia: a feasibility study. Lead : Dr Carole Fogg, Senior Research Fellow, University of Southampton Team: Dr Dianna Smith, University of Southampton, Professor Bronagh Walsh, University of Southampton. Phil King – Senior Business Analyst, South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) Vivienne Parsons – Specialist Business Analyst, SCAS Simon Mortimore – Assistant Director of Business Intelligence, SCAS Martina Brown – Research Manager, SCAS (and additional members of the research team – Helen Pocock – Senior Research Paramedic, Chloe Lofthouse-Jones – Education Lead, Patryk Jadzinski – Paramedic/Senior Lecturer) Nic Dunbar – Head of Community First Responder Operations, SCAS (and Operational Leads David Hamer and Jack Ansell) Starts: 13th March 2023 Ends: 31st July 2023 What's the issue? NHS ambulance services are under intense pressure to deliver timely and safe care. Immediately life-threatening conditions have to be prioritised. Older people with falls and symptoms related to long-term chronic conditions with lower category calls may experience long delays before an ambulance arrives. Such patients often have recurring needs for emergency care due to lack of alternative care pathways or long waits for social care assessments. These patients may also have dementia, putting them at greater risk of clinical deterioration whilst waiting for their needs to be met. Adults aged ≥65 represent a large proportion of SCAS demand (2022: 17% of 111 calls, 48% (21,200 per month) of 999 calls), with around 14% living with dementia. Better information on the location and outcomes of these calls through applying geospatial techniques can shape service provision to meet population needs, improve patient experience and outcomes, and enable existing resources to be used to best effect. What did we find out in this research? Making maps of who uses healthcare services and where they live is a technique previously used by emergency services to understand patterns in ambulance response times and to identify vulnerable communities. The growing older population and increased demand for emergency care presents an opportunity to use these maps to better understand how the level of patient need for ambulance services varies by geographical area, and if there are differences in what happens to patients after they are seen. Our study involved developing an academic-healthcare collaboration which included people with the relevant skills and abilities to identify the data that was needed, extract and collate it from healthcare data systems, translate it into geographical maps, and then interpret what the maps could tell us about older people’s use of emergency services in the area. We discussed maps which included the way older patients were distributed across the South Centralregion, the number of calls, response times, falls, dementia cases and hospital conveyance rates. We found that there are large geographical differences in the number and type of emergency calls and ambulance requirements for older adults, particularly in how many people were then taken to hospital (“conveyance rates”). The geographical distribution of falls and calls to people living with dementia corresponded with patterns of where older people live in the region. Response times varied by location. Stakeholders recommended adding more information on other available services, including community first responders, to help map interpretation, and identified areas to be explored in more detail, particularly in addressing conveyance rate disparities for falls. What did we do with this new Knowledge? We are continuing discussions with stakeholders to see how the methods and results of this initial study can be incorporated into practice and into future research. We will take on board the suggestions from the SCAS staff on how to improve the maps, and include these in our next analyses. We will collate this information and present it to the SCAS Board to see how the methods may be used in practice now, and what further improvements could be made. The publication from the study provides a clear framework and methods so that other organisations providing emergency care and the Integrated Care Boards that they are a part of so that they can also consider these techniques to evaluate their provision of care to older people. What next? We have discussed the results in two workshops at the SCAS 2025 Volunteer Conference to see what volunteers think should be done next in using this data to improve emergency care of older people. Lots of additional areas for research were raised for older people’s emergency care, which we are working on assessing for feasibility and prioritising. We are going to share the results with external stakeholders such as those in the healthcare improvement Q Community Special Interest Group on emergency care to seek wider collaboration for further work. We are developing further research bids (NIHR/ESRC) to explore explanatory and potentially modifiable factors for the differences in hospital conveyance rates between geographical areas for older people with non-life-threatening calls, and to investigate which geographical areas would benefit from better provision of or access to out-of-hospital services.

COVID-19 projects We have been responding to the call from the National Institute for Health Research and the Department of Health and Social Care to rapidly respond to the demand for evidence and support for the NHS and care settings during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ARC Wessex Central team has been called in to support the NHS Nightingale Hospital and we are working with other ARCs and specialists. Professor Peter Griffiths is leading a team on Workforce and Staffing. This page lists the ARC Wessex Covid-19 research projects underway, and is updated when new projects come online. #staysafe Our research projects COMPLETED: Symptoms, Trajectory, Inequalities and Management: Understanding Long-COVID to Address and Transform Existing Integrated Care Pathways (STIMULATE) Read more ADOPTED PROJECT: Supported remote rehabilitation post Covid-19 Read more COMPLETED: Development of policy recommendations to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on physical activity and mental health in individuals with multimorbidity: a mixed method study. Read more COMPLETED: Predicting Patient Deterioration Risks in COMMunities Read more COMPLETED: How to Support children with cancer, or another serious condition, and their parents during the COVID-19 outbreak Read more COMPLETED: Developing a web resource to support families bereaved during COVID-19 Read more COMPLETED: GOODNIGHT Covid-19 to care-home-based vulnerable individuals Read more COMPLETED: COVID-19 Emergency Department Project Read more

Ageing & Dementia Theme leads Stephen Lim Theme lead Dr Kinda Ibrahim Deputy theme lead The Ageing and Dementia theme has undertaken a broad portfolio of research aimed at improving the health, care, and quality of life of older adults and people living with dementia across Wessex and beyond. Our work spans the development and evaluation of novel interventions, as well as the use of routinely collected data to understand how healthcare services can be organised more efficiently and deliver higher‑quality care. Through the Neuro Digital and Neuro Online studies, we have generated new insights into the factors that influence engagement with digital health technologies among people living with neurological conditions and dementia. This work is helping to shape more inclusive and accessible digital health solutions. We have also delivered innovative interventions that mobilise volunteers to support older adults in both community and hospital settings, helping them remain active and prevent functional decline. The ImPACt study successfully implemented an online intervention across seven community clubs in Hampshire and Dorset, which has since been adopted as routine practice by Brendoncare community clubs. The PIVOT study demonstrated the feasibility of volunteer‑led physical activity programmes across three NHS trusts in England, and plans are underway to secure further funding to expand this model nationally. The IDA study strengthened partnerships with NHS trusts and third‑sector organisations to disseminate the Active Lives digital intervention, designed to support older adults in increasing their physical activity. Through collaboration with six NHS trusts and four third‑sector organisations across the South of England, Active Lives reached 5,002 older adults, significantly extending its impact. Through the STOP-DEM project, we generated new evidence on how deprescribing can be undertaken safely and acceptably, with meaningful involvement of patients and carers. The findings have influenced clinical education, professional practice, and policy discussions locally and nationally. Research outputs have been embedded into undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare teaching through a co-produced short film, reached frontline clinicians through NHS and Royal College events, and informed national conversations on medicines optimisation via policy briefings and parliamentary roundtables. Widespread media coverage has further raised public and professional awareness of deprescribing in dementia. Research projects ARC Wessex programme of research on Medicines Optimisation (MODIFY SPiDeR STOP-DEM) Read more Refinement of an eFalls tool - a multivariable prediction model for the risk of ED attendance or in-hospital fall or fracture in individuals accessing mental health or learning disability services - eFalls Read more ADOPTED: Understanding how and why live-in care packages are arranged and sustained, when dementia is the primary support need: A mixed methods study. Read more Developing Pathways for older adults who are also drinking at increased-risk levels Older adults Alcohol Pathway (OAP) Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Neuro LTC: Assessing Baseline Factors, Critical Events and Fatigue in Long Term Neurological Conditions Read more EnTech (Enabling Technology): Investigating the enabling and inhibiting factors to the use of internet-based support tools for caregivers of people with dementia, and how to promote engagement. Read more The feasibility and acceptability of a collaborative deprescribing intervention to reduce anticholinergic burden among hospitalised older patients. Digital Anticholinergic Reduction Tool (DART) Read more Understanding the Networks, Effects and Teams involved in Community Alternatives to ACute Hospitalisation for Older People in Hampshire and Isle of Wight Region – CAtCH-NET Read more ADOPTED: Mobility assessments in hospitalised older adults: study protocol for an e-survey of UK healthcare professionals Read more ADOPTED: An observational longitudinal cohort study to investigate Cortical Disarray Measurement in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (CONGA) Read more ADOPTED: (SIFT) Sensors in Fatigue Tracking in Parkinson’s. Exploring the relationship between perception of Fatigue and the performance of physical activities in people with Parkinson's with fatigue using wearable sensors Read more COMPLETED: Development, evaluation and provision of an intervention for primary and community NHS staff to help carers and homecare workers supporting people living at home with dementia with their continence. Read more ADOPTED: FLOWS Planning for Frailty: Optimal Health and Social Care Workforce Organisation Using Demand-led Simulation Modelling Read more PIVOT: Promoting Increased physical actiVity in hospitalised Older adults with Trained volunteers Read more ADOPTED: SPLENDID Social Prescribing for people to Live ENjoyably with Dementia/memory problems In Daily life Read more ADOPTED: Community Alternatives to aCute Hospitalisation for Older People who have Fallen (CAtCH-Falls) Read more COMPLETED: Wessex Frail2Fit – A feasibility and acceptability study of a virtual multi-modal intervention delivered by volunteers to improve functional outcomes of older adults with COVID-19 discharged from hospital Read more COMPLETED: Developing training for person-centred care: adapting the Chat & Plan for use in domiciliary care Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Geospatial mapping of emergency calls from older adults to ambulance services in the South Central region, with a focus on people living with dementia: a feasibility study. Read more COMPLETED: Understanding psychosocial determinants of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in older adults: exploring the role of social networks and loneliness in living with AUD (OLA study 2). Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Optimising Outpatients: Effective service transformation through face-to-face, remote and digital care delivery. Read more COMPLETED: Development of a structured deprescribing intervention for people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment in primary care (STOP-DEM) Read more COMPLETED: Development, evaluation and provision of an intervention for primary and community NHS staff to help carers and homecare workers supporting people living at home with dementia with their continence. Read more ADOPTED: Incidental Interaction: Novel Technology to Support Elders-as-Athletes through Augmenting Everyday Interactions Read more Wessex NHS Insights Prioritisation Programme Project (NIPP) Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED: Investigating Quality of Care for People with Dementia Undergoing Cancer Treatment in Ambulatory Care (ImPaCT) Read more COMPLETED: Creating Learning Environments for Compassionate Care (CLECC) in mental health settings: an implementation study Read more COMPLETED: Promoting person-centred care using the CHAT&PLAN conversation guide Read more COMPLETED: INVOLVing pEople with cognitive impaiRment in decisions about their hospital nursing care (INVOLVER): a pilot study Read more COMPLETED: Neuro Digital: From Attitudes to Strategies Read more COMPLETED: Neuro Online (Formerly From Clinic to E-Clinic): Evaluating the Implementation of the My Medical Record Platform in Young-Onset Dementia and Huntington’s Disease. Read more COMPLETED: IDA: Implementing a Digital physical Activity intervention for older adults Read more COMPLETED: The ImPACt study - Improving physical activity of older people in the community Read more COMPLETED: CLECC Toolkit and background: Creating Learning Environments for Compassionate Care (CLECC) Read more COMPLETED: StOP UTI project: Strategies in older people's care settings to prevent infection Read more COMPLETED: Understanding the psychosocial needs and trajectories of older adults (>64 years) with alcohol use disorder (AUD) from hospital back into community Read more The PD Life Study: Exploring the treatment burden and capacity of people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers Read more DIALOR: DIgitAL cOaching for fRailty (DIALOR) Read more COMPLETED: Material Citizenship Framework Project Read more Mental health hub projects Understanding the psychosocial needs and trajectories of older adults (>64 years) with alcohol use disorder (AUD) from hospital back into community Read more Publications Read our publications here. 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Healthy Ageing, Dementia and Frailty National Priority Research Programme The research is focused on the health challenges facing our growing older population. The projects are as much about staying well and supporting people as finding better ways to care for and treat people with the many multi-morbidities that can develop in later life. Read about how Pat and Julia got involved in this impressive national research programme Read: Evidence and Policy recommendations - Strengthening Community Based Falls Prevention in England Falls among older adults in the UK are a major public health concern, with approximately one- third of people aged 65 and over experiencing a fall each year. Falls can result in severe injuries and contribute to increased health and social care costs, as well as disability and premature death. Despite strong evidence for falls prevention programmes, implementation across England remains inconsistent and fragmented. Linked to FLEXI project Download the report above of flick through it in the gallery to the right Strengthening Community-Based Falls Prevention in England_Page_1 Strengthening Community-Based Falls Prevention in England_Page_2 Strengthening Community-Based Falls Prevention in England_Page_8 Strengthening Community-Based Falls Prevention in England_Page_1 1/8 Our research projects WHELD: Training care home staff to improve well-being and mental health of dementia residents led by NIHR ARC 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 Coast and NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber Read more 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. Read more FLEXI: Falls management exercise programme led by NIHR ARC East Midlands working with NIHR ARC Greater Manchester and NIHR ARC South West Peninsula Read more Who is participating? NIHR ARC Greater Manchester NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber NIHR ARC South West Peninsula NIHR ARC East Midlands NIHR ARC West Midlands NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria NIHR ARC North West Coast NIHR ARC South London NIHR ARC East of England

Social care An effective health service is reliant on an effective social care system, and it is therefore vital that we develop a robust research base for social care, to ensure that local authorities (LAs) and third sector organisations provide the most effective services within a wider integrated system of health and social care. Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole | Dorset Location Location Location Professor Lee-Ann Fenge Social Care lead Growing social care research capacity Social care touches every family in Britain, yet there is a paucity of social care research and historically limited access to the research infrastructure that shapes NHS and social care practice. The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Wessex Social Care Programme was created to change this. Our overarching aim was to build the skills, confidence and partnerships that allow social-care staff, carers and local organisations to use research to improve people’s lives. Working with local authorities, voluntary groups and unpaid carers across Wessex, the programme supports the DHSC vision for a fairer, more integrated system that helps people to live well at home for longer. Research champions funded within three local authorities (BCP, Dorset and Portsmouth City Council) and with voluntary sector organisations including MYTIME , and Help and Care have supported a culture of research engagement across the workforce in these organisations, including through facilitation of journal clubs, joint publications with academics and involvement in research projects. Adults Services within BCP Council have now adopted the research champion model across all of their adults teams as part of their workforce development strategy. Driving Improvement in Services and Local Policy · The programme’s practical studies have directly improved service; from staff training on inclusive communication to the redesign of community engagement and recruitment practices. Co-produced publications in leading social-work journals and presentations to professional conferences are spreading these lessons nationally. We have also contributed to national ARC Social Care events to share learning. Building Skills and Confidence in the Workforce - More than 40 social care professionals have received structured research training through internships, fellowships and the new REAL (Research, Evaluation, Audit and Literature) Course co-designed with Hampshire County Council, and participants are already leading improvement projects - evaluating recruitment practices, developing databases of community activities and strengthening induction and mentoring for new staff. Feedback shows greater confidence, better use of evidence in daily decision-making and stronger retention through professional pride. Joint projects between universities and councils have changed how services are planned and delivered for example: Day Services for Adults with Learning Disabilities research informed Hampshire County Council’s strategic plan. In Portsmouth the Single-Handed Care Review enabled efficiency savings while maintaining safety and quality. Research Champions and a Researcher in Residence worked with voluntary organisations including Help and Care and MYTIME to explore the needs of unpaid carers, including young carers and those supporting a loved one waiting for a dementia diagnosis known as the Waiting Well Project which included an exhibition at Poole Arts Centre in January -February 2026 highlighting the challenges carers face. Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch (BCP) & Dorset County Dr Natalie Djohari Dr Andy Pulman Winchester - Hampshire County Dr Rachel Harrison Southampton - City Dr Michelle Myall Portsmouth - City Dr Amy Drahota Anchor 1 Anchor 1 Anchor 1 Anchor 1 Anchor 2 Download report Our Post-Doctoral Fellows Dr Andy Pulman Bournemouth University Dr Natalie Djohari Bournemouth University Dr Amy Drahota University of Portsmouth Dr Michelle Myall University of Southampton Dr Rachel Harrison University of Winchester ARC Wessex and CRN Wessex pulled together to expand research into social care. Four researchers were funded to work with local councils in Dorset, Portsmouth, Southampton and Hampshire. Senior Research Fellow Doctor Michelle Myall was named researcher-in-residence at Southampton City Council. Amy Drahota worked with Portsmouth City Council, Andy Pulman with Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council and Dorset Council and Rachel Harrison with Hampshire County Council. The researchers came from the Universities in Southampton, Bournemouth, Winchester and Portsmouth. Research projects included issues like domestic abuse and social care workforce capacity. Funding also supported development of Research Champions within councils to work with the four research leads. The social care research champions were existing employees from the councils concerned. The specific focus of the role differed by the individual council and its needs. There was opportunity for learning for all involved, to understand more about what support is needed to enable growth in social care research. Publications from this work: Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.A. 2024. The Evolving Workplace: The Possible Impacts of Hybrid Working and Hotdesking on Retention of Social Workers. The British Journal of Social Work. Volume 54, Issue 8. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae120 Pulman, A., Fenge, L.A., Mazarura, P. and Sanis, N. 2024. Struggling with studying and earning – realities of the UK's cost-of-living crisis on students on social work programmes. Research in Post-Compulsory Education (co-writing with research champions Trsih and Neil) https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2024.2403825 Pulman, A., Sloan, H. and Fenge, L.A. 2024 (in press). Advocacy in Practice: Who Advocates for the Advocates? Practice - Social Work in Action. (co-writing with PPIE strategy group representative Helen) https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2024.2410851 Pulman, A. and Fenge, L.A., 2024. Impacts of Workplace Stress on the Retention of Social Workers: A Qualitative Study. Practice - Social Work in Action. https://doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2024.2429085 May 15, 2025, 12:00 Dr Rachel Harrison - Empowering Voices: How Research Can Enhance Lives for People with Learning Disabilities | More June 19, 2025, 12:00 Helen Sloan - Person centred approaches, advocacy and community engagement in research and social care | More July 17, 2025, 12:00 Dr Andy Pulman - Developing carer research capacity in Wessex September 18, 2025, 12:00 Dr Natalie Djohari - Capacity Building in Career Research If you missed an online seminar see below for the recordings Social Care Lunchtime Seminars Social Care Lunchtime Seminars Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Search videos Search video... Now Playing Social Care lunchtime seminar #15 Recruitment and retention on Adult Social Care 55:38 Play Video Now Playing Social Care lunchtime seminar #14 38:45 Play Video Now Playing Social Care lunchtime seminar #13_Internships 39:33 Play Video Now Playing Social Care lunchtime Seminar 19 9 25 - Rachel Harrison 53:44 Play Video Seminar presentation Presenters Seminar Zoom links Seminar 2 - Andy Pullman Download PowerPoints Set one - Practitioner data Set two - HEI data summar Set three - Methodology Speakers Professor Lee-ann Fenge - Professor of Social Care in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University and CRN and ARC Wessex lead on Social Care Dr Andy Pullman - ARC Wessex Post Doctoral Fellow - Bournemouth University Here's how to join Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84574755038?pwd=dHZ4RHNSMmpIQlNLNW41cnptUzZ3Zz09 Meeting ID: 845 7475 5038 Passcode: 058408 Our research projects COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Building Bridges: Elevating Research Culture in Social Care through Collaboration, Qualitative Insight and Relationship-Driven Impact Read more ADOPTED: FLOWS Planning for Frailty: Optimal Health and Social Care Workforce Organisation Using Demand-led Simulation Modelling Read more SOCIAL CARE: Evaluation of Southampton City Council’s Male Engagement Worker (MEW) Project Read more COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Building capacity in social care through co-produced research and a research learning partnership between University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth City Council Read more COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Local Authority Adult Social Care Recruitment and Retention research project (BCP/Dorset) Read more Dorset projecr

Healthy Communities Theme leads Professor Nisreen Alwan Theme lead Professor Dianna Smith Deputy theme lead Healthy Communities Theme The health of people across our communities faces a number of challenges from the start of someone’s life until the end – our research teams are addressing inequalities, diet, domestic violence and a wide range of issues that touch on everyone’s lives in particular those in more vulnerable and underserved populations. Next theme meeting: see events page or or contact: H.Down@soton.ac.uk for details Research projects ARC Wessex programme of research on Medicines Optimisation (MODIFY SPiDeR STOP-DEM) Read more ADOPTED PROJECT: Exploratory research to examine the health impact of scams and fraud and the current knowledge and systems in the police and partner agencies for targeting and delivering victim support services Read more ADOPTED: DASA - Domestic abuse and housing: local authorities' provision of safe accommodation for adults living with disabilities and/or long-term/life-limiting illness: a mixed-methods study Read more ADOPTED: CEDA ‘Making the invisible visible’: identifying and responding to unpaid carers who experience domestic abuse from end-of-life care recipients Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Evaluating the Operation Encompass Scheme: A Qualitative Scoping Study Read more ADOPTED: IneQUIty in end of life care for children: Investigating experiences and families’ Needs after sudden and unexpecTEd deaTh in children and young people – the QUINTET study Read more Determining the effectiveness and outcomes of innovative interventions for people who have used stalking behaviours: An extension of the exploration of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Multi-Agency Stalking Partnership (MASP) Read more A qualitative case study to understand Young people’s food purchasing patterns in CONvenience stores in the school neighbourhood environment (Y-CON) Read more ENRICHER-C: Involvement in the criminal justice system & the impact on women's health in Dorset & Hampshire – Community comparison Read more Developing a core cohort of community researchers in Wessex: towards a sustainable Wessex Community of Practice for public health research co-production Read more COMPLETED: WADE. Women and Desistence Engagement : An evaluation of a community-based, conditional caution pilot programme for women in the criminal justice system Read more COMPLETED: Motivating and sustaining engagement of young people in improving their health and that of their communities Read more COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Building Bridges: Elevating Research Culture in Social Care through Collaboration, Qualitative Insight and Relationship-Driven Impact Read more ADOPTED: Investigating the impact of food vouchers on diet composition and the prevention of childhood obesity Read more ADOPTED: Community pharmacy alcohol-related liver disease risk identification and linkage to care through development of a complex intervention (CIP-LINC) Read more ADOPTED: Evaluation & Exploration of Multi-Agency Stalking Partnership Interventions Read more Qualitative Data Preservation and Sharing (Q-DaPS) Read more SOCIAL CARE: Evaluation of Southampton City Council’s Male Engagement Worker (MEW) Project Read more ADOPTED: Exploratory research to examine the health impact of scams and fraud and the current knowledge and systems in the police and partner agencies for targeting and delivering victim support services Read more COMPLETED: Co-POWeR - Consortium on Practices of Wellbeing and Resilience in BAME Families and Communities Read more COMPLETED: Testing the effects of food product placement on customers’ visual attention and intended product purchases: a randomised trial in a virtual supermarket setting (Phase II) Read more COMPLETED: Symptoms, Trajectory, Inequalities and Management: Understanding Long-COVID to Address and Transform Existing Integrated Care Pathways (STIMULATE) Read more ADOPTED: Mapping pathways of response for adult and child victim-survivors of domestic abuse in Southampton City Read more ENRICHER – involvEment iN the cRiminal justice system & the ImpaCt on women’s Health dorsEt & hampshiRe Read more CHAMPION: Children whose mothers are involved in the criminal justice system in Dorset & Hampshire: developing health and social care outcome indicators Read more COMPLETED: How to Support children with cancer, or another serious condition, and their parents during the COVID-19 outbreak Read more COMPLETED: Developing a web resource to support families bereaved during COVID-19 Read more COMPLETED SOCIAL CARE: Local Authority Adult Social Care Recruitment and Retention research project (BCP/Dorset) Read more COMPLETED: Mental health Burden of Increased Living costs: Local Support (My BILLS) Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Young people’s barriers to mental health services Read more POST DOCTORAL PROJECT: Early detection of chronic liver disease in community settings Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Comparing pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): systematic review and network meta-analysis Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: ADAPT: The cross-sector implementation of NICE-recommended CBT-based interventions for young people in care: Framework Read more ADOPTED PROJECT: DIGNIFIE Gender-seNsitive evaluatIon oF a prIson alternativE Read more ADOPTED PROJECT: High Harm Domestic Violence Perpetrator Pilot Evaluation Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: The Gateway Study a randomised controlled trial, economic and qualitative evaluation to examine the effectiveness of an out-of-court community-based Gateway intervention programme aimed at improving health and well-being for young adult offenders; victim satisfaction and reducing recidivism Read more COMPLETED: Social network facilitated engagement in people who are Homeless to address InEqualities in alcohol related Liver Disease - The SHIELD feasibility study Read more A national evaluation of Project Cautioning And Relationship Abuse (‘CARA’) awareness raising workshops for first time offenders of domestic violence and abuse Read more COMPLETED: Wessex DIET: Determining the Impact of covid-19 on food sEcurity in young families and Testing interventions Read more COMPLETED: Domestic Abuse and Life-Limiting Illness: identifying and supporting adults at risk (DALLI Study) Read more Prevention schemes for female vicitms and offenders in Hampshire and Dorset Read more COMPLETED: GOODNIGHT Covid-19 to care-home-based vulnerable individuals Read more The feasibility of community pharmacies testing for Hepatitis C in people who inject image and performance enhancing drugs Read more COMPLETED: Testing the effects of food product placement on customers’ visual attention and intended product purchases: a randomised trial in a virtual supermarket setting (Phase I) Read more COMPLETED: The Wessex FRIEND Toolbox (Family Risk IdEntificatioN and Decision) Read more Mental health hub projects Adolescent Resilience to OVercome Adversity: EmpoweRment and intervention development – the ROVER study Read more Pharmacological And Non-Pharmacological treatment of ADHD in Pre-schoolers: a systematic review and network meta-analysis: the PANPAP study Read more Read our publications here Read more Publications

Workforce & Health Systems Theme lead Professor Michael Boniface Theme lead Deputy theme leads Dr Dan Burns Health Systems Dr Chiara Dall'ora Workforce Workforce & Health Systems Theme We know that the health workforce are an asset and in short supply. As part of our ARC research we are planning a series of studies. We will look at the best ways for staff to work - for example where and when. We also want to improve conditions - in part by ensuring they have time to do the jobs we are asking them to do. Cultivating a flow of pioneering ideas that offer the potential to transform people's lives and the economy using information technology is a motivating force that drives us. Our capacity to rapidly turn these ideas into benefits for partners through collaborative, applied research and innovation makes Southampton a truly exciting place to be. Research projects ADOPTED ActMed-VW - Healthcare professional's experiences of Access to Medication for people on Virtual Wards who are in their last year of life Read more ADOPTED PROJECT - PREMAC 2 STUDY Development and application of Patient Report Experience Measure for patients accessing ACute oncology services: Read more Implementation and Evaluation of the Advanced Practice Research Toolkit Read more Adopted Project: Paramedic delivery of end-of-life care: a mixed methods evaluation of service provision and professional practice (PARAID) Read more PROCED-DST: PROactive, Collaborative and Efficient complex Discharge – Decision Support Tool Read more FORTH – FORecasting Turbulence in Hospitals Read more Predicting nurse staffing requirements -validation and scoping extension study (PREDICT-NURSE validation and extension) Read more Identifying the knowledge gaps of paramedics managing patients with mental health issues Read more Wessex SNSDE Study (SETT Centre) Read more ADOPTED (PhD): PREPARE-to-ACT study: Preparing for and Responding to Emergencies – A multi-phased qualitative investigation of Patients’ And members of their RElational networks’ decisions to use urgent and emergency care during Anti-Cancer Treatment Read more PUNDIT – Predicting hospital Usage Numbers via a DIgital Twin Read more ADOPTED: A Study to Evaluate the Introduction of new Staffing Models in Intensive Care: a Realist evaluation (SEISMIC-R) Read more COMPLETED: PREDICT-NURSE – feasibility: Predicting Patient Acuity/Dependency-Based Workload from Routinely Collected Data to Assist with Nursing Staff Planning – feasibility study Read more ADOPTED: Nurture-U (Southampton): A longitudinal survey for student metal health and wellbeing Read more ADOPTED: FLOWS Planning for Frailty: Optimal Health and Social Care Workforce Organisation Using Demand-led Simulation Modelling Read more ADOPTED: SORT-IT (Salisbury Operational Research Track – Improving Together) Read more Workforce Evaluation Toolkit project (WET) Read more ADOPTED: Social Prescribers In Deprescribing Role (SPiDeR) Read more ADOPTED: Improving patient safety, workforce wellbeing and NHS efficiency through improved shift patterns for nursing staff: study protocol Read more PARIEDA - Prediction of Acute Respiratory Infection outcomes prior to Emergency Department Attendance Read more COMPLETED ADOPTED PROJECT: Geospatial mapping of emergency calls from older adults to ambulance services in the South Central region, with a focus on people living with dementia: a feasibility study. Read more COMPLETED: Predicting Patient Deterioration Risks in COMMunities Read more ADOPTED PROJECT: Developing and testing a Patient Report Experience Measure for patients accessing Acute OnCology services: The PREMAC study Read more ADOPTED: Consequences, costs and cost-effectiveness of different workforce configurations in English acute hospitals: a longitudinal retrospective study using routinely collected data Read more COMPLETED POST DOCTORAL PROJECT: The career aspirations of nurses working in the research delivery workforce: a cross-sectional survey Read more ADOPTED PROJECT: Magnet4Europe: Improving mental health and wellbeing in the health care workplace Read more PROCED: PROactive, Collaborative and Efficient complex Discharge Read more Mental Health, Workforce and Well-being Research Framework - ARC Collaboration Read more COMPLETED: Safer Nursing Care Tool and nurse staffing requirements Read more COMPLETED: Shift Pattern Feasibility Read more COMPLETED: Improving community health care planning Read more COMPLETED: CLECC Toolkit and background: Creating Learning Environments for Compassionate Care (CLECC) Read more COMPLETED: COVID-19 Emergency Department Project Read more Mental health hub projects Work lives and Wellbeing of Mental Health Nursing Workforce Read more Development of a core outcome set for mental health nurse wellbeing: a Delphi study Read more Read our publications here Read more Publications Access our evidence brief here Read more Evidence briefs Reports, toolkits and support Find the information and tools to improve your work here Read more

Long Term Conditions Theme leads Professor Mari-Carmen Portillo Theme lead Long Term Conditions Theme To promote better living with and management of long-term conditions we need care plans that make sense to people and respond to individual needs. We aim to listen to and learn from people's experiences, explore resources in the community and work in teams that represent different lay people, sectors and professionals. Research projects I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. Read more I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. Read more I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. Read more Mental health hub projects Understanding, addressing, and meeting the complex needs of people living with long term physical and mental health conditions: a qualitative study Read more Role of patient-assessed functioning as a predictor of health service use in patients with long term mental health conditions Read more Read our publications here Read more Publications Collaborative project: Improving review appointments for people with long-term conditions

DEM-COMM programme Building Capacity in Dementia Research DEM-COMM was a capacity-building scheme for post-doctoral researchers working in applied dementia research. The scheme launched on October 1st, 2022, with funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Alzheimer’s Society, and will run until March 31st, 2026. The aim of DEM-COMM is to prepare a future cohort of researchers for the role of Chief Investigator in applied dementia research. This is an important and specialised role that carries with it the expectation that the lives of people living with (or at risk of) dementia will improve because of research. The scheme supported the development of more than 70 early to mid-career researchers working in one of the 15 Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) across England. Independent report on Mapping Dementia Research Capacity - Mapping career development opportunities in applied dementia research DEM-COMM is led by Professor Ruth Bartlett with ARC Wessex as the host and coordinating centre. In 2026 we celebrated the end of the DEM-COMM programme at an event in Southampton - below are just some of the videos and images from that day Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur explains how important the work of the Dementia Fellows has been and how personal it is to her. Lisa Hammond from the Alzheimer's Society who part funded the Dem-Comm fellowships praises their impact on the lives of people with dementia and their carers and families. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us.

6dc4c269-ddb7-41c3-afd8-8173c69a4651 ADOPTED ActMed-VW - Healthcare professional's experiences of Access to Medication for people on Virtual Wards who are in their last year of life Virtual wards provide acute, hospital-level care in an individual’s own home, rather than in a hospital or hospice. They are also known as Hospital at Home services. We know that virtual wards can care for people who are in their last year of life. For individuals approaching the end of life, control of symptoms requires prompt access to medication. We know access to palliative care medication can be challenging in the community. There have also been reports of difficulty accessing medication on virtual wards; however, it is not known if there are specific issues accessing palliative care medications on virtual wards. This study aims to investigate access to medication for adults on virtual wards who are in their last year of life. We aim to understand the experiences of healthcare professionals so that we can make recommendations on how to improve access to medication in the future. We will ask healthcare professionals working in virtual wards to answer questions in an online survey. We will ask doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists to complete the survey. We will ask them about what works well and what does not. We will ask them about the challenges they have faced, and what would help them to minimise or eradicate these. We will also interview 20 healthcare staff. This will include both professionals who completed the survey and individuals who oversee the management of virtual ward services. We will explore in more detail examples of good practice and the processes that need to be in place to ensure straightforward, fast access to medication. We will consult with clinical and policy experts on potential solutions to the challenges identified in the study findings. We will also work with these experts to develop recommendations for policy and practice. Project team includes: Co-PI - Dr Nicola Andrews Co-PI - Prof Sue Latter Co-I Dr Natasha Campling Co-I Dr Sara McKelvie Research Fellow Dr Dan Aze