The existing service has enjoyed considerable success, with approximately 60,000 people currently registered, over 10,000 new volunteers in the last year. Volunteers have been involved in a range of studies which have helped improve quality of life and led to some promising pharmaceutical breakthroughs.

Over recent weeks we have discussed the service with people living with dementia and their families, as well as charities, government organisations, researchers and other stakeholders.

This feedback is helping us to understand the current challenges facing users and researchers and how to ensure the service works for them. We are working on a blueprint for an improved dementia research service which will be tested and refined over the coming months.

We are continuing our commitment to involving people with dementia in the design process and to ensure research remains as accessible as possible to people living with the condition. Ultimately, the work should enable more high-quality dementia research to take place through the service and enable more people to actively take part.

We are grateful for the continued support Join Dementia Research receives from the care home community, residents, and their families and friends.

Join Dementia Research stories:

• South London researcher uses Join Dementia Research to boost recruitment
  Olga Borejko spoke about the benefits of using Join Dementia Research to boost recruitment to an NIHR-supported study into dementia with Lewy bodies.
• Taking part in dementia research: Mary’s story
  Mary Stewart-David spoke movingly in a video about her mother’s dementia diagnosis and how this inspired her to get involved in research.
• Ten years in dementia research: Geoff and Susie’s story
  Susie Fenwick was diagnosed with dementia in 2013 and she has since been taking part in research with her husband Geoff to help others with the condition in the future.

Please encourage your residents and their families and friends to sign up to Join Dementia Research.

If you missed our CRED talk this week we have recorded it, therefore you do not need to miss a thing!

We heard from:

Chair: Professor Deborah Sturdy, England’s Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care

Adeela Usman, Doctoral Fellow at the University of Nottingham: QUINCE study: How quality of life is described and can be delivered in care homes

Dr Kellyn Lee, WISER Health and Social Care, and Dr Jane Frankland, University of Southampton: Material Citizenship training: how thinking about everyday objects differently can improve quality of life in care homes

Bryony Beresford, Professor of Health and Care Services Research, University of York: Behind the scenes: organisational features and practices which support and nurture relationship-centred homecare

Please see the recording of the webinar here.

We are now welcoming proposals for #CRED talks on other topics in the months to come. If you are a research team or research-practice partnership with social care research to share, please contact arcwessex@soton.ac.uk to find out more.

“Webinar 1

Friday 21 July 2023. 12:00-13:30 – Online 

The first webinar will be about Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of care home based research: Shifting the balance- enabling care home staff and residents to be partners and leaders in research.

Chair: Julienne Meyer

Presentations:

• Evidence review and uptake: Sarah Kelly (University of Cambridge), Guy Peryer (University of East Anglia) and Karen Spilsbury (University of Leeds)
• Care home trials archive: what questions interest care home staff and researchers? Lisa Irvine (University of Hertfordshire).
• Resident and staff engagement with research questions: Anne Killett (University of East Anglia)”

Who should attend?

The webinar will be of interest to researchers and people working in, with and for care homes.

More information or to register please click here ARC East of England webpage

“People working in social care make a huge difference to people’s everyday quality of life, supporting them to be who they want to be and to live lives that bring them meaning and joy. Emerging research is starting to reveal what’s important to people whose voices are often not heard, and how people working in social care can support high quality living even when health and care needs are very complex.

This CRED talk showcases the best of this research in the UK, with a focus on practical take-home messages for people working in social care.

This CRED talk will bring you up to date with the latest evidence and associated learning resources in care home and domiciliary settings, with the aim of supporting you in the work that you do.

We will be hearing from:

Chair: Professor Deborah Sturdy, England’s Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care

Adeela Usman, Doctoral Fellow at the University of Nottingham: QUINCE study: How quality of life is described and can be delivered in care homes

Dr Kellyn Lee, WISER Health and Social Care, and Dr Jane Frankland, University of Southampton: Material Citizenship training: how thinking about everyday objects differently can improve quality of life in care homes

 Bryony Beresford, Professor of Health and Care Services Research, University of York: Behind the scenes: organisational features and practices which support and nurture relationship-centred homecare

Please join us in creating a credible platform for social care research education and debate.”

Data and Time: Tuesday 11^th July 2023 15:00 – 16:00

This is an online event. 

Please click here to register for the event. Once you have registered you will be invited to the webinar, which will take place via Microsoft Teams

If anyone was unable to attend the last CRED talk on Living well: care approaches to manage continence and prevent urinary tract infection (UTI) in social care, the recording of  the webinar is can be accessed here

The next CRED Talk will take place on the 11^th July 3-4pm, on the topic of ‘Putting the social into social care’.

More details and the link to register to follow.

• Statistics and health economics
• Qualitative methodology
• Support on involving patients and public in research, identified by the NIHR as a critical component in funding applications
• Peer review of draft grant applications before submission.

“National policy makers are a crucial audience for health and care researchers yet many researchers don’t know how to connect with them.

This webinar from Professor Annette Boaz (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) will explain the important areas to consider when engaging with and sharing research knowledge with policy makers. It will help researchers to understand what they can offer policy makers and what knowledge mobilisation approaches are most useful. It will also discuss potential challenges and practical tips.

This webinar is for anyone in the health and care community wishing to engage with and share research knowledge with policy makers. By attending this webinar you should:

• Understand what researchers can offer policy makers

• Learn about the key areas to consider when engaging with and sharing research knowledge with policy makers

• Recognise the challenges of engaging with policy makers and provide practical tips to help researchers overcome these.

You will also have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the webinar.

About our speaker

Annette Boaz is Professor of Health and Social Care Policy at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and is a member of the WHO European Advisory Committee on Health Research. With Kathryn Oliver, she co-leads Transforming Evidence, an international initiative designed to support the use of research evidence in different policy fields and contexts.

She has more than 25 years of experience in supporting the use of evidence across a range of policy domains. She was part of one of the largest UK investments in the evidence use landscape and was a Founding Editor of the Journal Evidence & Policy. Annette has also undertaken an international leadership role to promote the use of evidence. In 2019, she published a new book ‘What Works Now’.

This event is being run by NIHR in partnership with NIHR ARC West.”

Date & time: 20 April 2023, 1:00-2:00pm BST

Learn more and register here.

“Research for Social Care (RfSC)  RfSC research is expected to have a high degree of involvement from relevant users of social care and social care practitioners throughout the research.

RfSC welcomes high-quality proposals from researchers and practitioners that are focused on:

• Social care needs and relevant outcomes related to adult and/or children and young people’s social care (which could be quality of life, improvement of social care and other interrelated factors, as appropriate to the study, population etc.)
• Developing a more robust evidence base for current ways of working
• Developing and evaluating new ways of delivering social care
• Secondary data analysis, record linkage and reviews
• Research methods development
• Care users’ and carers’ circumstances and needs
• Those who deliver social care including unpaid carers and the staff and professionals involved in the delivery of social care e.g. social workers.

The submission deadline for applications is 1pm on 21 June 2023.”

For more details please click here

“Developing your research delivery workforce 

with a targeted qualification

Virtual event 22 March 2023 (12.30pm to 2.00pm)  

Registration is now open via the link below

https://cvent.me/0XngMR

Are you an employer looking for new ways to develop the next generation of Research Delivery Leads?

Could you help to mentor colleagues to develop the research delivery leaders of the future?

Introducing the NIHR-AoMRC Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework, created to provide the necessary networks, skills and confidence needed for healthcare practitioners from any regulated profession to lead and support clinical research delivery.

Join us on Wednesday 22 March 2023 from 12.30 to  2.00pm to learn more about the Framework and how it can help you to develop the Research Delivery workforce. 

What is the NIHR-AoMRC Clinician Researcher Credentials Framework? 

The Framework consists of Master’s level qualifications and is designed for learners with busy work schedules studying part time. 

Flexible access is provided to theoretical online modules that develop learners’ knowledge and insight of the approaches to, and delivery of, clinical research.

Learners put their learning into practice by undertaking a workplace-based module where they work on existing research projects in their local area, supported by the mentorship of an experienced researcher. 

Who can attend?

Employers, if you are looking for new ways to develop the next generation of research delivery leads, this event is for you. 

Potential workplace supervisors, if you are experienced in research delivery and want to help to develop the research delivery leaders of the future, this event will explain what the supervisor role involves and what you can gain from it.

Further information and registration details can be found on the event home page using the link 

Full details about the Clinician Researchers Credentials Framework can be found here

If you would like to register for updates about the Clinician Researchers Credentials Framework, please complete this form.”

“The committees play an important role in helping us deliver our mission to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.  Through funding by the Department of Health and Social Care, the NIHR enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people’s health and wellbeing, and promotes economic growth.

We are looking for people who have a broad interest in health, social care and actions to improve public health and address health inequalities.

You do not need to have a scientific background to help us shape research!  We are looking for people who are able to use their own experiences to improve the research we wish to fund.

The NIHR is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all areas of our work. We recognise public contributors may encounter barriers to involvement. We will take steps to ensure we are as accessible and inclusive as possible. We want to increase the diversity of our public contributors and the voices heard in research, and are trying to take positive steps to improve representation in our committees.

For more information about the role and how to apply, visit the NIHR website: Public Committee Member – NIHR Programmes

We would be happy to answer any questions about these opportunities and provide guidance and support on the application process, please contact us by email: publicrecruitment@nihr.ac.uk “