Community and Health Research Unit

The Community and Health Research Unit were awarded the University of Lincoln team award for Achievement in Research at the awards ceremony in November 2015. Members of the team were Professor Niro Siriwardena (director), Dr Zahid Asghar, Dr Zowie Davy, Dr Jo Middlemass, Dr Coral Sirdifield, Ana Godoy Caballero, Fiona Togher, Viet-Hai Phung, Despina Laparidou, Rebecca Porter, Rachel Hawley and Sue Bowler. Ana Godoy has left the team to begin a new post in Spain and Rebecca Porter has started her medical studies at Durham.

Over the past year CaHRU achieved research centre status. The centre focussed its efforts on ‘making an impact on healthcare through international and world class research’ by: conducting research which is likely to make a difference to people’s health and well-being; promoting high quality care which enhances the experience, safety, effectiveness, efficiency and equity of healthcare by investigating how to transform the performance and function of health and social care practice, organisation and delivery; positively engaging with health care organisations regionally and nationally; strengthening its academic and health service collaborations regionally, nationally and internationally; supporting its researchers to achieve their potential through a research environment that encourages cooperation, collaboration and mutual support; and engaging with service users, carers, practitioners, health service managers, commissioners and policymakers in research activities to maximise the impact of its research by responding to service priorities, working with service users and care organisations to embed research into practice and disseminate findings.

The team’s efforts have led to an increase in the number and quality of successful research bids including funding from the National Institute for Health Research, Wellcome Trust and Falck Foundation, greater numbers of research outputs in high quality peer-reviewed journals, and continuing research impact extending regionally, nationally and internationally. Team members use a wide range of research designs and methods, but the centre is now undertaking more clinical trials which provide greater potential for future research impact.

The Community and Health Research Unit received the team award for achievement research at the University of Lincoln awards on 19 November 2014, where Despina Laparidou, Jolien Vos, Dr Jo Middlemass, Ana Godoy Caballero and Viet-Hai Phung (pictured left to right) accepted the award on behalf of CaHRU. Since the submission to the Research Excellence Framework a year ago the unit has particularly focused on developing early career researchers (ECRs), junior researchers and doctoral students, aiming to develop their research expertise, skills and outputs as future researchers and research leaders, and to increase capacity for international and world class research.

This is being done through: mentorship and support for junior staff; a monthly research writing group at which all members of the team, NHS colleagues, visiting professors and East Midlands NIHR Research Design Service staff meet to review research bids and journal papers prior to submission, and where colleagues also have an opportunity to review feedback from reviewers prior to revising bids and journal papers; a six weekly implementation science and research methods seminar at which members of the CaHRU team and external academic experts present the latest ideas on methodology.

The unit also provides opportunities for junior staff to develop their skills and expertise by working with more senior members of the team and external academic experts from the rest of the EU and internationally on projects. Our efforts have led to successful grant funding for the team and increased our outputs in high quality peer reviewed journals involving ECRs and junior researchers as lead authors and co-authors.