NIHR Mental Health Research Group

Project Description

The University of Hull has been awarded £11m from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) - Mental Health Research Group award to establish a world-leading centre to carry out essential research into addiction and mental health.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research combines expertise from the University of Hull with those of our partners and collaborators to increase capacity of research across the region and nationally.

Our target area covers a population of 1.7 million people from cities, market towns, rural villages and coastal communities across the Humber and North Yorkshire. It includes areas that experience high levels of unemployment, housing problems and wider health difficulties who have poor access to effective mental health and substance use treatment.

We have discussed our project with people who plan services, who agree that addiction and mental health is a major priority across the region. The aim of this new centre is to develop the University of Hull’s addiction and mental health research so people and services benefit. We will target national priorities and the mental health needs of our local population, resulting in better access to care and treatment that works. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research at the University of Hull is supported by the University of York and King’s College London, who already have similar centres. The funding will help the new Centre grow so it can continue for years to come.

Our plan involves individuals with lived experience of addiction and mental health problems as well as local groups. Patients and the public will be involved in the development of our research and helping us to understand the results of our projects. The plan will include several projects across three areas:
•Theme 1: Young people with substance use and mental health presentations. We aim to improve care pathways for young people (i.e. 10-18 years) with substance use and mental health problems who often miss out in getting the help they need.
•Theme 2: Adults with substance use and mental health presentations. We aim to improve care for adults who have substance use and urgent mental health problems when they ask for help in crisis.
•Theme 3: Defining the needs of adults with alcohol-related cognitive impairment. We aim to understand more about those adults who have early memory problems caused by alcohol. The research will help services to identify and care for these people earlier so that longer term problems can be avoided.

Cross-cutting themes ensure we utilise expertise from Data and Artificial Intelligence Modelling (DAIM) centre at the University of Hull, use of devices and technology from the Department of Addictions, King’s College London, and health economics from the University of York in all our studies.

The new Centre will deliver benefits to people with mental health problems in our local area in the following ways:
•More people with addiction and mental health problems will be able to get involved in health research that will change services and improve outcomes.
•Involve the voices of people with lived experience of addiction and mental care, and those of their family and carers.
•Explore best practice for increasing access and improving outcomes for those experiencing addiction and mental health problems. Our research will also assess the value for money and impact of new service models across a variety of settings
Email: CAMHR@hull.ac.uk
https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/research/groups/centre-for-addiction-and-mental-health-research