NIHR Research Programme For Social Care Awards £2.8 Million Across 9 Projects
The NIHR Research Programme for Social Care (RPSC) has awarded £2.8 million in funding to 9 new projects through its second funding call.
The 9 newly-funded projects include improving sexual and relationship support for autistic people, an assessment of home care delivery for older adults living at home, older men’s experience of self-neglect and hoarding, and the issue of waiting in social care.
This call aims to support high quality research that strengthens the evidence base for effective, good value social care for both adults and children.
RPSC funds research that improves the effectiveness of social care services, delivers value for money and benefits people who need or use social care, as well as carers. The programme supports applications from higher education institutions, charities, local authorities and third sector organisations across the UK. It also encourages involvement from people with lived experience and the social care workforce throughout the research process.
The programme aims to generate new evidence that informs practice, supports decision making and strengthens the social care research landscape. The call also includes dedicated support for early career researchers and capacity building across the sector.
Professor Martin Knapp, Director of NIHR Research Programme for Social Care said:
“We’re investing in research that tackles some of the most pressing and often overlooked challenges in social care. These 9 projects reflect the breadth, ambition and creativity of the sector and they demonstrate our commitment to building a stronger evidence base that genuinely improves people’s lives.”
9 funded projects
• Supporting Social Workers to Include Sex and Relationship Needs in Care Act Assessments for People with Learning Disabilities and for Autistic People: A Qualitative Study (Manchester Metropolitan University)
• Co-located nurseries in care homes: exploring the impact of intergenerational practices on residents with dementia (Leeds Beckett University)
• Supporting the food and drink-related quality of life of older adults living at home from assessment to care delivery: a qualitative study of homecare services in England (University of Sussex)
• Supporting Reunification: Learning from Applied Research (University of Exeter)
• Developing reproductive health support to prevent early and unplanned pregnancy among care experienced young people (University of Newcastle upon Tyne)
• Complaining about complaints: an exploration of family carers’ experiences of raising complaints with local authority adult social care departments in relation to adults with learning disabilities (Manchester Metropolitan University)
• Improving policy and practice to promote and protect the emotional well-being of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Young People leaving care in England (University of York)
• Older men’s experiences of self-neglect and hoarding and engagement with local authority social care services and support – OMESH study (Cardiff University)
• Waiting Well in Social Care (University of York)
