NIHRDataInsights/HRCSData huggingface dataset:
Title: 'Alcohol Control in Scotland and England: Longitudinal Survey of Adult Drinkers
Funder: Cancer Research UK

Abstract: This study will examine impact of alcohol control efforts and marketing on the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of adult drinkers in Scotland and England. As alcohol policies differ, a natural experimental setting exists to compare the impact of policies implemented in either of the countries. The study will comprise a literature review of key alcohol strategy documents, interviews with professionals involved in alcohol control, focus groups with adult drinkers, and telephone surveys of adult drinkers. The same adult drinkers will be surveyed twice to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes or behaviours attributable to changes in alcohol control or marketing efforts.


Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: 'Preventing alcohol-related harm among young women: development and feasibility testing of a community-based intervention
Funder: Cancer Research UK

Abstract: Binge drinking is common among young women. This feasibility study will develop and test a community based group intervention to reduce binge drinking among women aged 18 – 34 years. It follows MRC guidelines for developing complex interventions. The feasibility study will be presented as a study about “looking good and feeling great”. It will to be conducted in three phases. Phase 1 will develop the recruitment strategy and intervention package. A community outreach strategy will recruit participants in three ways: by word of mouth from existing formal community groups; by advertising on two local radio stations and through a poster campaign. Six focus groups with young women will be convened to develop the recruitment strategy and test the components of the intervention package. Phase 2 is a before and after intervention study. The intervention, which is age and gender sensitive, will be delivered to 20 groups of women (comprising three to eight individuals) who regularly drink together. Different types of groups will be recruited eg work colleagues; young mothers; gym or other activity group members; students; and unemployed young women from areas of high deprivation. The intervention is based on the health action process approach (HAPA) model which specifies motivational and volitional components of behaviour change. Three sessions will be delivered to complete groups of women approximately one week apart. Motivation to change will be generated using motivational interviewing techniques, which have been shown to be effective with groups. Intentions to reduce the frequency of binge drinking will be translated into behaviour change using action planning and coping planning. The sessions will be divided according to the HAPA model; promoting motivation/intention, action planning/coping planning and maintenance/relapse prevention. Women will be followed up individually by telephone interview three months after the intervention. The study will assess the acceptability and perceived impact of the intervention and changes in the women’s drinking and intentions to drink alcohol. In Phase 3, four focus groups will explore the impact of each of the components of the intervention. In addition, a survey of young women who were exposed to the recruitment campaign will also be conducted to assess its impact. If the feasibility study is successful in changing drinking intentions, funding will be sought for a large before and after study to test the effectiveness of the intervention on binge drinking.


Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING;7.1 INDIVIDUAL CARE NEEDS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: 'Time to change! Using the transition from school to university to promote healthy lifestyle habits in young people
Funder: Cancer Research UK

Abstract: Eating healthily, exercising, drinking sensibly and not smoking are known to reduce the risk of developing serious diseases and conditions (e.g., cancer, heart disease, obesity diabetes). However, few young people engage in health behaviours to a level that reduces their risk of developing such health problems Early adulthood is a time when many healthy, or unhealthy, lifestyle habits are established. The transition from school to university marks a significant life change for many young people as it typically involves living away from home for the first time and freedom from parental supervision. Young people’s behaviour may be more open to change during this transition due to the natural disruption in the environmental context in which such behaviours are performed. The transition from school to university provides a unique opportunity to intervene with a large proportion of young people (up to 40% of school leavers attend university). The proposed intervention therefore seeks to promote healthy lifestyle habits through a multi-device digital intervention that targets several health behaviours during this transition. A randomised controlled trial is proposed with 2 arms: (i) multi-device digital intervention and (ii) control. Participants will be all incoming undergraduate students at a large city university in the UK (N = 4000). The intervention will comprise an interactive website which will be completed by students one month before they enter university, with three components: (i) a self-affirmation task (to reduce defensive processing of the subsequent health messages), (ii) messages and interactive tasks about the targeted health behaviours based on social cognitive models of health behaviour, and (iii) an implementation intention task to form specific plans to engage in the targeted health behaviours at university. The intervention will continue during students’ first month at university through the use of a range of new, digital, technologies that are part of the student’s world: mobile phones, social networking sites, and internet enabled devices. Key health behaviours (i.e., diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking) will be assessed one month prior to university and at one and six months after entering university. Biochemical makers of health-risk behaviours (i.e., alcohol, smoking), health beliefs, health status and academic performance will also be assessed. In addition, an economic analysis will quantify the likely longer-term public health impacts of the intervention. If successful, the intervention could be readily implemented across the university sector and beyond to instigate healthy lifestyle habits during important life transitions.


Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Operational failures in general practice: An observational study of what general practitioners do and what gets in the way of doing it
Funder: Academy of Medical Sciences

Abstract: In this study, we will characterise and quantify the nature and distribution of the tasks that GPs undertake and we will identify and characterise the operational failures and related interruptions that prevent GPs from completing tasks as efficiently as they could if these problems were not present. For the purposes of this study, we will define operational failures as disruptions or errors in the supply of materials, equipment or information that limit the ability of GPs to do their job. Specifically we will: 1. Systematically review and summarise the existing empirical data on the content, casemix and task distribution of a GP’s working day, including the operational failures and time spent dealing with operational failures or resolving issues that delay or interfere with their ability to complete tasks as intended; 2. Generate qualitative information on the types of operational failures that occur in general practice and other issues that delay or interfere with GPs’ ability to complete tasks as intended; 3. Generate quantitative evidence on the content, casemix and task distribution of a GP’s working day by conducting an observational time-and-motion study; 4. Characterise the sources and nature of operational failures observed in the time-and-motion study; 5. Generate evidence on the proportion of time GPs spend dealing with operational failures or issues that interfere with their ability to complete their clinical tasks as intended; 6. Identify which operational failures are tractable to improvement work and propose the improvement strategies that might be most appropriate.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES;8.5 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (HEALTH SERVICES)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Pictures of ageing in Uganda; A partnership to explore demographics, phenotype and self perception in a community of older people
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract: People are getting older and not just in Western countries. Societal pressures from extended life expectancy are now emerging in low-income countries. We don't really know what ageing looks like in low-income countries, and many people don't know their exact age. We will work on methods to determine people's exact ages (demographic information) in a community in Uganda and build up a picture of its older people's functional and cognitive health. At the same time, we will involve the same people in a community arts project to explore their self-perception of ageing. Ageing populations across the globe will lead to a rise in frailty, disability and dependency. Solutions to these problems must be financially, socially and environmentally sustainable to avoid prejudicing life chances of current and future populations. In addition proposed solutions must have buy-in from the older population themselves. Through this grant we will establish an exciting multi-disciplinary partnership network of academics, artists, non-governmental and governmental organisations in Cambridge and Uganda with a community of older people in Uganda. This partnership will provide a framework to explore demographics, the healthy ageing phenotype, and self-perception using historical demography, psychology, public health epidemiology, and visual arts in order to build up a holistic picture of ageing in a community in Uganda. We will co-develop ideas with a community of older people to produce a multi-disciplinary demographic, phenotypic and functional capacity and visual representation of what ageing means to them. We hope that this forms the basis of a future research grant application.


Research activity codes: 1.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROCESSES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Improving food safety by reducing pesticide residues: developing a pheromone alternative to insecticides for control of thrips on legumes in Kenya
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract: Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is widely grown in sub-Saharan Africa, where the main pest is the bean flower thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedti). The insect is resistant to most insecticides, so smallholder farmers end up spraying too often, leading to unacceptably high pesticide residues. Our aim is to develop a pheromone-based control method that will reduce pesticide use and thus improve food safety by reducing pesticide residues in food. It will also lead to higher yields, better safety for farm workers, reduced environmental impact and more sustainable agriculture. Adult male thrips produce aggregation pheromones that attract both males and females. We discovered the first aggregation pheromone in thrips, which was in the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), and it is used commercially for monitoring, but little attempt has been made to understand the effects of the pheromone on mating behaviour in order to develop the potential for control. We have previously identified two compounds that are present in the headspace volatiles of adult male (but not female) M. sjostedti, which indicates that they are pheromones. Preliminary experiments show that both compounds attract male and female thrips to sticky traps. We will synthesise these compounds and investigate their effects on mating behaviour, by means of laboratory bioassays and field trials, using a range of controlled release rates and ratios. We will then test and develop their potential for (a) mass trapping, (b) mating disruption, (c) spot treatment of thrips attracted to pheromone hot spots away from the crop, and (d) auto-dissemination of spores of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (strain ICIPE 69), which kills M. sjostedti. The project uses our world-leading UK research strength in thrips biology. It will be carried out in Kenya in conjunction with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), which is based in Nairobi.


Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Evaluating the safety and nutritional quality of a novel insect based food product in Benin
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract: Insects are a widespread food source that can contribute to food security in regions where agricultural production is limited. This multidisciplinary project (ecology, food science and socioeconomics) will develop alate (winged) sexual termites as a community produced preserved food for use during periods of chronic food shortage. We will perform three tasks: i) Evaluating the natural capital of termites: Yields of alate termites from individual mounds will be assessed through capture. We will then estimate landscape yields by combining these data with mound density acquired through satellite and drone images to provide the first estimate of termites as natural capital at community and landscape levels. We will also optimize termite collection using solar light trapping, using materials and methods that are acceptable and co-designed with communities. ii) Developing means of preparation and preservation: Preparation and preservation technologies for termites will be developed in the communities, ensuring simplicity and affordability (drying, grinding, and desiccated storage). We will deliver state of the art nutritional analysis of preserved termites including LC-MS and GC-MS metabolomics approaches, and biosafety analysis (bacterial contamination - qPCR;mycotoxin risk - quantitative ELISA). This quality assurance then enables both local use and marketing of the product. iii) Community engagement and resource use: Community views towards, and active engagement in developing termites as a food source are central to this project. Traditional use of termites will be examined alongside simple collection and preservation techniques. Cost benefit analysis of harvesting and processing termites will be performed in the context of other community activities. Use of termites within the community and their potential value in the local market will be assessed. Finally, the system developed will be promoted for uptake more widely across Sub Saharan Africa.


Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Metal contamination of rice supplies in Asia
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract: We will develop models for predicting contamination levels of individual metals and metalloids in rice grain based on spatially-resolved data on environmental, management and genetic variables. To develop our models, we will make pilot studies at 600 farm sites in Bangladesh and the Philippines (300 in each country), in which we will conduct surveys of contamination levels and its drivers. We chose these countries based on availabilities of relevant spatial data and favourable political conditions for studies on rice contamination. The sites will be chosen to cover relevant geographic areas with a range of contamination risks and rice growing variables. Farmers will be interviewed for their soil and water management practices and socio-economic factors. Rice grain and soils will be sampled: grain will be analysed for metal contents and DNA finger-prints to derive genotype information; soils will be analysed for standard properties and metal contents. We will also collect existing spatial data on biophysical conditions (soils, water, geology), pollution risks (geogenic, anthropogenic) and rice growing conditions across Bangladesh and the Philip[pines. We will combine this mapped data with the survey and analytical results to derive models relating contamination risks to driving variables (environment, management and germplasm), informed by understanding of the plant, soil and water processes governing uptakes of different metals. We will develop the models on a stratified random subset of the data, and use the remaining data for validation. We will use the models to predict contamination risks across Bangladesh and the Philippines. We will draw conclusions for generic methods for making assessments in other rice-producing countries in Asia. We will seek to widely disseminate the project findings and the generic methods we will develop through the project team's wide network of partnerships within target countries and across scientific disciplines.


Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS;3.3 NUTRITION AND CHEMOPREVENTION
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Moringa; delivering nutrition and economic value to the people of Malawi
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract: Provision of adequate nutrition in Malawi is critical, but significant challenges exist in establishing and operating a food and nutrition security programme. This project aims to establish production of a high-protein, micronutrient rich crop (Moringa oleifera), which will be locally grown by smallholder farmers, and processed on-site to supply Malawi's proposed scaled-up nutrition programmes. As well as contributing towards nutritional security for the poorest and most vulnerable, it will deliver recognised additional economic benefits through two commercialisation opportunities; provision of functional plant-based protein isolates as an increasingly desirable food ingredient for local and export markets and scientifically-evaluated fair-trade products to enter the growing international market for nutraceuticals. The nutritional composition (macro-, micro-, anti- and non-nutrient content) of Moringa grown across several sites will be evaluated and compared to the supplemental formula adopted by the World Food Programme in an adequately powered human dietary intervention, providing evidence on the bioavailability of micronutrients beyond that of product labelling. Technology developed to produce functional protein-rich formulations from legumes will be adapted for the sustainably cropped Moringa leaves, providing a palatable, protein-rich isolate with functional properties, which being fair-trade and GM-free will be a desirable food ingredient and commercial opportunity for companies with or adopting a sustainability plan. Additionally, the bioactive constituents (several hundred, some of which have been shown to be anti-inflammatory, geno-protective, redox active) will be characterised by targeted LC-MS, providing a scientifically evaluated fair-trade nutraceutical to enter the increasing international health market for these products. Using an ex ante cost-benefit appraisal the social and economic aspect will be evaluated.


Research activity codes: 3.3 NUTRITION AND CHEMOPREVENTION
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Development of novel value chain from cocoa pod husks in Indonesia: Technological, environmental and socio-economic challenges of a value chain
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract: The project will take an integrative approach to identify and address holistically the technological, environmental, economic and societal challenges of developing a novel value chain for cocoa pod husks. This is important as it will ensure that the strategies in this value chain are viable for use in Indonesia and have a positive impact on the welfare and economic stability of the farmers, as well as the environment. The project will explore three alternative protocols, organosolv processing, alkaline extraction and steam explosion, to identify an efficient and scalable process for the fractionation of cocoa pod husks into soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and lignin. The fibre-rich husk fractions will be added into different food systems (bakery, dairy, chocolate-based confectionary products) to reduce their sugar and fat content and increase their fibre content, and will also be investigated as a filler to improve the physicochemical properties of biodegradable foam packaging materials. The willingness of Indonesian farmers to adopt the proposed practice changes (e.g., additional labour for the collection, storage and transport of husks, changes in farming practices associated with the new mode of husk utilisation) will be assessed by a preliminary survey, and subsequently by a choice experiment to evaluate how these changes might be aligned with farmers' preferences. Studies will also be conducted to understand the potential impacts of the off-farm removal of husks on soil properties and soil nutrient cycling. The outputs from the individual work packages will be integrated to develop alternative flow designs for a novel value chain based on different scenarios (e.g. location and scale of operations, changes in farming practices, infrastructure needs). The economic viability of the whole value chain will be assessed from a farmers' perspective and from the perspective of a commercial operation using cost-benefit analysis techniques.


Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING;3.3 NUTRITION AND CHEMOPREVENTION
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: GeoNutrition - tackling hidden hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract: GeoNutrition is a framework to help reduce mineral Micronutrient Deficiencies (MNDs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It adds value to the Africa Soils Information Service (AfSIS) programme, whose current focus is soils information, by integrating the spheres of agriculture, nutrition and public health. The initial scope is Ethiopia and Malawi, due to established interactions with academics and policy-makers. Our scientific aim is to understand how the spectral properties of tropical soils relate to plant-availability of soil minerals and subsequent mineral transfers into the edible portions of staple crops. Spectral properties have previously been measured by AfSIS using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Mid Infra-Red (MIR) spectroscopy. Soils/staple-crops will be sampled at 500 new sites (Ethiopia, late-2017). Soil properties influencing plant-availability (e.g. iron sesquioxides, effective cation exchange capacity, phosphate binding capacity) and MIR/XRF (e.g. pH, organic C) analyses will be conducted on the same samples. Mechanisms controlling nutrient binding/release will be identified and plant-available soil concentrations predicted at all AfSIS sites using Linear Mixed Modelling (covariates include satellite data and legacy maps). Similar models of staple-crop mineral composition and dietary mineral supplies will be developed at co-located sites and published/government sources. Co-regionalised mapping will include estimates of (un)certainty in visual and verbal forms. Maps will show areas to be at the highest likely risk of MNDs to frame knowledge gaps. These predictions will be tested against mineral biomarker data (e.g. blood, urine) and proxies of MND status (e.g. stunting) from national surveillance programmes. Interactions with policy-makers to optimise communication strategies for different groups, and to strengthen networks/capacity to conduct longer-term R&D to address regional knowledge gaps is embedded within the work programme.


Research activity codes: 3.3 NUTRITION AND CHEMOPREVENTION
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE