NIHRDataInsights/HRCSData huggingface dataset:
Title: The prevalence of visual impairment in people with dementia
Funder: Department of Health (England)

Abstract: Background: The risks of developing dementia and visual impairment (VI) increase with age so a large proportion of people in the UK affected by dementia may also have VI. The ageing UK population is projected to lead to increasing prevalences of dementia and the major causes of sight loss. A literature review on VI and dementia revealed inconclusive prevalence data due to methodological differences in subjects’ age research setting (care home residents and non residents) and definitions of VI. Much of the research is 10-30 years old and few studies were UK based.Objectives: (1) To measure the prevalence of a range of vision problems in people with dementia. (2) To compare the prevalences found in Objective 1 with published data on the general population in a comparable age range. (3) To identify and describe reasons for any under detection or inappropriate management of vision problems in people with dementia. (4) To recommend interventions to improve eye care for people with dementia and further research in this area.Plan of investigation: Stage 1 is a cross-sectional study of randomly selected people with dementia (all types) to evaluate Objectives 1 and 2. Stage 2 is a qualitative study to evaluate Objective 3. Both studies will inform Objective 4. Sample: For Stage 1 two groups of people with dementia: Group 1 = 385 living at home; Group 2 = 385 in care homes based on an estimated prevalence of 50% or more with 5% precision (95% CI). For Stage 2 30 participants from each of the following groups: people with dementia capable of consenting to interview eye care professionals professional carers and family carers.Methods of data collection: Stage 1 – record eye care and relevant medical history assessment of dementia (MMSE) followed by full optometric assessment. Stage 2 – one-to-one interviews (people with dementia) focus groups with carers and eye care professionals. Stage 2 - framework analysis to explore experiences of eye care reasons for under-detection and inappropriate management of VI and recommendations for practice and future research.Impact: This investigation is expected to have significant impact by providing an evidence base for the following areas which are currently unknown: Patients and carers - Patient satisfaction with current eye care provision for those living at home and in care homes. Providers - Prevalence and distribution of the main causes of VI in those with dementia. Recommendations to improve eye testing and vision care for people with dementia.


Research activity codes: 2.4 SURVEILLANCE AND DISTRIBUTION;1.5 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (UNDERPINNING)
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;EYE
Title: Sensory prediction: the role of forward modelling in visual information processing.
Funder: Wellcome Trust

Abstract: In a constantly changing world, the ability to predict future events can be vital. Financial analysts, for example, exploit patterns in the ebb and flow of market conditions to estimate the outcome of investment decisions. Meteorologists simulate trends in atmospheric conditions to forecast the weather. Although we are typically unaware that it is happening, our brains are also constantly forming predictions. The ability of the brain to predict the consequences of our actions has been studied by scientists for many years. However, the capacity of our senses to form predictions is far less well-understood. Recently I have found new evidence that the visual parts of our brains use motion to predict patterns of light that our eyes will receive next. These predictions are treated by the brain in the same way as real visual images, and can be measured by looking at the way they alter people's ability to detect faint visual patterns. Now that we have a method for studying visual predictions for the first time, this project will determine how they are constructed by the brain and in what way they alter processing of visual information.


Research activity codes: 1.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROCESSES
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;EYE
Title: Health morbidity in police custody: a study of the prevalence of physical, psychiatric and intellectual disability problems amongst detainees in police custody and the efficacy and relevance of routine screening.
Funder: Department of Health (England)

Abstract: Previous studies have highlighted an excess of health morbidity in police custody although the precise details and extent of this remain uncertain. Furthermore, the effectiveness of police screening procedures to detect important health problems has not been assessed. A lack of prior research in this area may be partly explained by methodological problems inherent in the study population and the custody environment. Individuals move quickly through custody which makes capturing important health information difficult. Engagement with this group of study participants can be problematic. This is influenced by the stresses of being arrested and the effects of drug and alcohol intoxication. Evidence also suggests that there is a population of mentally vulnerable individuals in custody whose needs are not being identified. This programme of research has four elements. Firstly it will establish reliable estimates of physical and psychiatric morbidity in police custody. Secondly, it will evaluate the efficacy of existing health screening procedures used by the police. Based on these findings improvements to screening procedures will be devised and tested in the third part. Finally, a qualitative study of the views of police and custody healthcare staff in respect of health morbidity and screening procedures will provide further insights into this area of clinical research.


Research activity codes: 4.1 DISCOVERY AND PRECLINICAL TESTING OF MARKERS AND TECHNOLOGIES
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Lifelong health and wellbeing of the Scotland in Miniature : the 6-day sample of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947
Funder: Medical Research Council

Abstract: We shall follow up the 1208 people born in 1936 who formed the 6-Day Sample of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 (SMS1947). They were interviewed yearly from age 11 (1947) to age 27 (1963). There remain huge amounts of untapped stored information from their childhoods and early adulthoods. Now in their mid-70s, there is a time-limited opportunity to understand the life courses of this ?Scotland in Miniature?. This proposal will: (1) revitalise and extend the 6-Day Sample; (2) undertake and disseminate original research on the resource across many collaborating disciplines; (3) support the data and make them available to others. Existing data will be collated for analyses by statistical and non-statistical means: e.g., textual replies from respondents that have never been analysed will be coded for statistical analysis and transcribed for textual analysis. New data will be gathered from national databases both contemporaneous with the original data and (through data matching) subsequently gathered, and by contacting and interviewing the surviving participants. Methods will range from advanced quantitative modelling to qualitative analysis of life history interviews, as appropriate to the diverse, collaborating work streams, each led by an internationally-renowned expert. These are: (a) Life course social movements (lead: Dibben, social geographer); (b) Life-long educational experiences (lead: Paterson, sociologist); (c) Social and cognitive epidemiology (lead: Batty, epidemiologist); (d) Narratives of life transitions, social participation, health and well-being (lead: Elliott, sociologist); (e) Lifelong cognitive change (lead: Deary, psychologist); (f) Health and wellbeing in old age (lead: Starr, geriatric physician); (g) Stress and wellbeing in old age (lead: MacLullich, geriatric physician); (h) Sample selection (lead: Johnson, psychometrician and actuarial mathematician). The 6-Day Sample is a necessary addition to the other British cohorts because: it is representative of Scotland; the data on childhood home environments are detailed; the data from age 11-27 are detailed; data are available in detail on the characteristics and histories of the schools they attended; their age now?mid-70s?is important and not covered by other cohorts, and will allow time-series comparison with the other cohorts in due course. The study will be based in the University of Edinburgh Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, which is funded under the LLHAW initiative. The project will provide transformational science for life-long health and wellbeing: new cohort resource; high-impact publications; a database for other researchers; and policy information. Knowledge Exchange activity will deliver impact on health and social policy, and international recognition.


Research activity codes: 2.4 SURVEILLANCE AND DISTRIBUTION
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Life course impacts of health on social and economic outcomes and transitions
Funder: The Health Foundation

Abstract: As outlined in the call, there are now large literatures that indicate the importance of the social determinants of health (SDH) (WHO, 2008). These can be understood as factors other than medical care that influence the health of individuals, and are amenable to influence by social policy (Braveman and Gottlieb, 2014). What is less well understood is the (reverse) impact that health has upon these factors, both for individuals and their peer groups. The literature acknowledges this in debates about the causal interpretation of associations between socio-economic factors and health (Braveman and Gottleib, 2014). The current research project will develop an understanding of how variations in the mental and general health of individuals helps to cause social and economic outcomes by controlling for the influences of the reverse causation implied by the SDH, that is that these outcomes are known to influence health. To achieve this a dynamic instrumental variable panel data analysis will be conducted on longitudinal data. An important feature of the project is that it will take account of the influence of peers’ health on the social and economic outcomes. These innovations will provide unique insights into how health shapes socio-economic outcomes over the life course.

Lay abstract: As outlined in the call, there are now large literatures that indicate the importance of the social determinants of health (SDH) (WHO, 2008). These can be understood as factors other than medical care that influence the health of individuals, and are amenable to influence by social policy (Braveman and Gottlieb, 2014). What is less well understood is the (reverse) impact that health has upon these factors, both for individuals and their peer groups. The literature acknowledges this in debates about the causal interpretation of associations between socio-economic factors and health (Braveman and Gottleib, 2014). The current research project will develop an understanding of how variations in the mental and general health of individuals helps to cause social and economic outcomes by controlling for the influences of the reverse causation implied by the SDH, that is that these outcomes are known to influence health. To achieve this a dynamic instrumental variable panel data analysis will be conducted on longitudinal data. An important feature of the project is that it will take account of the influence of peers’ health on the social and economic outcomes. These innovations will provide unique insights into how health shapes socio-economic outcomes over the life course.

Research activity codes: 2.3 PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Temporal dynamics of multimorbidity and medication use with mental illness and dementia: an investigation in NHS Scotland routinely collected data and the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.
Funder: Chief Scientist Office, Scotland

Abstract: The co-existence of multiple conditions, known as multimorbidity, is increasing in prevalence and has been identified as a priority for research and in healthcare. Unanswered questions exist about mental and physical illnesses occurring together in multimorbidity, for example which conditions come first and the implications of taking multiple medications (polypharmacy). This epidemiological research will examine associations between multimorbidity and medication use with dementia and other mental illnesses in depth. It will include temporal dynamics, in terms of whether changing levels of medication use affect the associations, and the importance of specific drug groups. It will stratify analyses by sex. The data sources will be routinely collected linked data from NHS Information Services Division (ISD), including everyone aged 50 years or over on 1st January 2009 who received a prescription in Scotland in that quarter (n=1 346 714), followed up over 8.5 years. In addition, I will analyse more detailed measurements of cognition and mental health from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (n=1 091). This will be Scotland’s first longitudinal population-wide study of medication use, complemented with specific measures in a high quality cohort study. The results will be relevant to patients, policymakers and researchers in multimorbidity, dementia and mental health


Research activity codes: 8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: ‘What think you of a wound?’: wounding oneself in early modern England
Funder: Wellcome Trust

Abstract: The prevalence of self-harm in the UK has nearly tripled over the last decade (BMJ 2019). However, studies of self-harm have focussed on its biomedical causes to the exclusion of social and cultural factors. This project facilitates new ways of discussing self-harm through artistic practice. In collaboration with ArtLab (the outreach arm of University of Reading art department) and The AnDY (Anxiety and Depression in Young People) Clinic, the completed project will have delivered a series of creative workshops for people with a history of self harm, their loved ones, and service providers. I will have accumulated artwork and qualitative feedback from these workshops which helps me to understand how my research relates to (and differs from) modern narratives about self-harm. As ‘co-researchers’, participants will explore and express their ideas about representations of self-harm and generate a greater understanding of one another’s perspectives. These insights will be disseminated as a dynamic online exhibition of (anonymised) artwork and feedback from the workshops, made freely available to mental health charities and NHS trusts as a resource for promoting discussion about the socio-cultural aspects of self-harm. I’ll also discuss the project and the exhibition at local arts, science and heritage events such as the Being Human festival, encouraging greater openness about mental ill health. Additionally, my findings will be incorporated into a scholarly monograph on the topic of self-wounding in early modern England, specifically as part of an ‘epilogue’ which considers how historic experiences of self-wounding relate to modern self-harm.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Gender, health and the afterlife of colonialism. Engaging new problematistions to improve maternal and infant survival
Funder: Wellcome Trust

Abstract: Our knowledge of Latin America’s past is predominantly based on colonial and governmental sources, side-lining indigenous stories and myths that have been experienced and transmitted orally for generations. Through a collaboration between the British Museum’s Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research (SDCelar) and Indigenous participants we will tell these stories, creating a virtual exhibition examining the coloniality of gender in their communities. Wixárika gender relations and how these were performed and transformed throughout history will be shared using interactive materials, with the aim that researchers, participants and museum users more clearly understand how colonialism shapes experiences of gender and health.Research partners in the UK and Mexico will work with exhibition specialists Múcura and Wixárika participants to record their interpretation of the history of gender. Theatre, narratives and interactive experience-based artwork and will be used to generate content for the virtual exhibition. Evaluation will be formative and embedded, recording participants’ experience of analysing historical data and acting on their feedback. Once completed, Global visitors to the exhibition will learn how colonialism intervened with gender structures, participants will understand how colonialism has shaped their experiences of gender, pregnancy and childbirth; and the research team will learn to critically examine their own positionality, facilitating genuinely participatory and decolonising interpretations of their findings.Partnering with SDCelar gives Wixárika communities the ability to influence global knowledge networks and use this engagement to decolonise healthcare in their communities, with the potential for shaping future research and the focus of linkedacademic publications.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: Reducing moral stress in veterinary teams? Evaluating the use of ethical discussion groups and ethical decision making tools in veterinary practice.
Funder: Wellcome Trust

Abstract: Vets regularly experience ethical dilemmas when balancing the needs of animals, their owners and financial constraints. Moral stress, described as a feeling of conflict over what care it is appropriate to provide, may even contribute to the heightened risk of suicide observed in the veterinary profession. Charitable veterinary providers such as PDSA are currently working under extremely challenging conditions, with reduced capacity and increased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst ethical discussion groups and the use of ethical decision making tools have been proposed for supporting veterinary decision making, such practices have yet to be evaluated for their effectiveness in veterinary rather than equivalent human medical teams. I will pilot the use of an ethical decision making tool within a supportive group environment to help PDSA veterinary teams explore their approaches to ethically challenging cases. Through in depth interviews, I will invite veterinary team members to share their experiences of moral stress and evaluate the effectiveness of small group structured ethical discussions. My research will help PDSA develop strategies for improving veterinary mental health through supported ethical decision making. The research will also help us to better understand the causes and effects of moral stress in veterinary teams.

Lay abstract: Vets regularly experience ethical dilemmas when balancing the needs of animals, their owners and financial constraints. The resulting moral stress may even contribute to the heightened risk of suicide observed in the veterinary profession. Charitable veterinary providers such as PDSA are currently working under extremely challenging conditions, with reduced capacity and increased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. I will pilot the use of an ethical decision making tool within a supportive group environment to help PDSA veterinary teams explore their approaches to ethically challenging cases. Through in depth interviews, I will invite veterinary team members to share their experiences of moral stress and evaluate the effectiveness of small group structured ethical discussions. My research will help PDSA to develop strategies for improving veterinary mental health through supported ethical decision making. The research will also help us to better understand the causes and effects of moral stress in veterinary teams.

Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE
Title: ‘Thinking forward through the past: Linking science, social science and the humanities to inform the sustainable reduction of endemic disease in British livestock farming’ (a.k.a. FIELD)
Funder: Wellcome Trust

Abstract: Converging environmental, health, welfare and political agendas make the future of food and farming one of today’s most contested issues. Media representations are often unhelpfully polarised. Criticisms rest frequently on simplistic understandings coloured by false memories of an earlier ‘golden age’, while defensive farmers can struggle to articulate the challenges they face. In creating opportunities for more inclusive, reflective, non-judgemental exchanges, our enrichment work - based around creative practices that engage with livestock health and farmer/livestock relationships - will encourage farmers and diverse consumers to work through their differences, and develop mutual respect, empathy and understanding. Achievement of these objectives will be assessed through formative and summative evaluation. Three creative professionals - an artist (of any media), photographer and filmmaker, who are experienced with socially engaged art practices - will reside with the project's researchers and the farming communities they are studying. Their outputs will be taken back to these communities, and to various consumers, in conjunction with other engagement activities that are built around project research and its historical resources. Participants will be invited to respond, reflect, remember, converse, comment and learn about each other's perspectives on livestock health, welfare and production, and to engage with farmer/livestock relations in the past, present and anticipated future. To promote interactions between farming and non-farming audiences, the filmmaker will capture early participants’ reactions before adding their documentary to the exhibition. Researchers, farmers and practitioners will reflect on, and share their experiences of working together. Afterwards, the MERL will accession creative outputs.


Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH;GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE