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.