Keele-led partnership to lead multi-million pound research initiative to transform mental health support
A research group led by Keele University has secured £11m National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding to establish a Mental Health Research Group (MHRG) to address the mental health needs of the North-West Midlands and increase capacity for applied research.
The new research group will be led by Keele University with colleagues from the University of Birmingham and King’s College London, and work closely with Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. Partners will bring expertise in a range of areas including specialist mental health, creating effective research methods, and real world implementation.
Mental health difficulties are the largest cause of disability in the UK, and the Keele MHRG will focus on the North-West Midlands covering Shropshire and Staffordshire, where these conditions are also made worse in some places by high levels of poverty, unemployment and deprivation.
These areas also include a variety of rural and inner-city communities, populations of diverse ethnic heritage, and people experiencing homelessness, which are all factors that can impact people’s access to mental healthcare. This can cause major disparities in the care that people receive, and community and voluntary organisations often work with under-served groups to address these care gaps.
The Mental Health Research Group at Keele University will focus on how community and voluntary organisations, and primary care services, can provide better mental health support for people in under-served populations, including older adults, people with mental health problems and long-term physical conditions, and people with ‘complex emotional needs’ who require more tailored care.
The whole programme of work was developed collaboratively with people with lived experience of mental health difficulties and local community organisation partners. They will continue to shape the research agenda, working with the research teams as well as contributing to studies as research participants. One of the public contributors who worked with the research team on the application said: “I love the fact that this whole application is co-produced. We have included people with lived experience at every stage.”
Co-lead of the MHRG at Keele Dr Gary Lamph, said: “The MHRG will develop and test innovative, effective strategies to meet the needs of local people who have previously found accessing care difficult. We will share our findings directly with local organisations and policymakers to ensure lasting, widespread impact.”
Co-lead Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham added: “The huge impact of mental ill health, especially among under-served groups, means new strategies to make care more effective are urgently needed. This award will also put Keele on the map as national experts in primary and community mental health research.”
Birmingham Co-Lead Prof Amy Grove, Professor of Implementation Science at University of Birmingham said: “As researchers we value the opportunity to rigorously evaluate mental health care innovation as it happens. By combining rigorous trials and real-world evidence, the NHS can ensure research is shaped by what actually happens to patients in primary care mental health services.”
“Our aim is to support Keele University to bridge the gap between mental health research and everyday care, ensuring that research reflects the realities of patients’ lives and leads to more meaningful, scalable improvements in mental health outcomes. Incorporating real-world evidence with patients’ real-world experience helps to design studies and development mental health services that are more inclusive, relevant, and impactful.”
Birmingham Co-Lead Dr Isabel Morales-Muñoz, Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Birmingham added: “The MHRG represents a significant step forward in translating high-quality mental health research into meaningful change for communities across the Midlands. Through our established partnership, the University of Birmingham is contributing specialist Mental health and Implementation Science and methodological expertise, alongside mentorship, to help ensure that mental health interventions developed in primary care are both evidence-based and grounded in lived experience.”
Professor Claire Henderson, Clinical Professor of Public Mental Health at King’s College London, said: “We at King’s are very excited to join as a partner with Keele together with Birmingham to help deliver research that will: benefit the local population; generate evidence for underserved populations elsewhere; and develop research capacity to extend these benefits over the long term.”
