The University of Worcester has been awarded more than £2.2 million for a programme of research to investigate mental health inequalities across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
The funding, from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Mental Health Research Leader Award will enable the University to establish a new Rural Mental Health Research Unit.
Research in the Unit will be developed to understand the risks of poor mental health in rural communities, to develop new approaches to prevent mental health difficulties and to identify earlier signs of mental health difficulties.
The 5-year programme will fund three new posts, including a Professor of Rural Mental Health, an Associate Professor of Suicide Prevention and a Research Fellow as well as two PhD students each year.
Professor David Green CBE DL, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Worcester, said: “I am delighted that the National Institute for Health and Care Research has awarded this major grant to establish the new Rural Mental Health Research Unit at the University of Worcester.”
He continued: “The research that this unit will conduct will help many thousands of people living in rural communities in the years ahead. This is a really positive development for the community, the NHS and the University. We are very grateful to the NIHR for this major award.”
Serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression can make it hard for people to live their daily lives, and they’re becoming more common, especially in rural areas with high levels of poverty.
Mental illnesses in rural areas can go unnoticed because of stigma, social isolation, and barriers to accessing services. People in these settings often travel long distances to reach services and are less likely to be able to access them digitally.
Professor Eleanor Bradley is Director of Research in the University’s College of Health and Science, and Principal Investigator on the programme.
She said: “The reason we need to do this research is to learn more about the experiences of people living across our rural communities, through new research designed to reflect their daily lives and experiences of mental ill-health. This will enable us to develop our services locally, whilst understanding more about rurality as a risk to people’s mental health.”
Professor Bradley added: “We’ll be working very closely with our voluntary and community sectors because patient and public involvement is central to what we’re doing. This is about offering research to people who’ve previously been underserved by research.”
It’s expected that the research carried out here could have huge implications for the way mental health services are delivered in rural settings much more widely.
Professor Bradley said: “The research will be designed with transferability in mind, and so we’d expect to be able to share our learnings with other regions and also learn from them too.”
Professor Sally Moyle, Pro Vice Chancellor Health & Science, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our research colleagues to work across many health, voluntary, and independent sectors, bringing together a wealth of expertise to drive improvement for the region.”
Professor John-Paul Wilson, Pro Vice Chancellor, Research, at the University of Worcester and Joint Principal Investigator, said: “This programme is of great importance to the University and the wider community. It will significantly extend our already excellent research into serious mental illness.”
He added: “Crucially, it’s designed to change people’s lives for the better by preventing serious mental illness, identifying signs of serious mental illness earlier, helping people get quicker access to support, and then looking at the support they need after diagnosis.”
The programme will be delivered in partnership with the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Mental Health and regional health bodies, including the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board, the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Public Health Teams, and Primary Care.
For information on courses at the University of Worcester visit www.worcester.ac.uk or for application enquiries, telephone 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk