Funding of £4.3 million committed to dementia research

Nine new research projects and 16 career development awards have been funded to address key evidence gaps for dementia-related practice through the NIHR Three Schools’ Dementia Research Programme. Funding of £2.8 million has been committed, with a further £1.5 million available for new research proposals.

The NIHR Schools for Primary Care Research (SPCR), Public Health Research (SPHR) and Social Care Research (SSCR) (“three Schools”) have joined together in a unique collaboration between leading academic centres in England on a programme of research and related work on dementia funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The Three Schools’ Dementia Research Programme aims to develop the evidence base for dementia-related practice in England by commissioning and conducting high-quality research to address key gaps in the evidence base working collaboratively across primary care, public health and social care.

The nine projects cover a range of topics, including dementia risk prediction, safeguarding, supporting people living at home with dementia with their continence, understanding and using experiences of dementia, understanding needs, exploring national policies and local care ecosystems, support for social care needs after a dementia diagnosis, and carers’ assessments.

The career development awards are likewise supporting individuals to undertake bespoke training to develop their skills, co-produce resources and develop further research proposals.

Professor Martin Knapp, Director of NIHR SSCR and the Dementia Research Programme, said:

Every one of these research projects and career development awards spans at least two of the NIHR research school ‘territories’ – social care, primary care and public health – and address NIHR priorities in the dementia area. These are areas where research could have real impact on the health and wellbeing of people living with, or at risk of dementia and of carers.

The Programme has now launched a third £1.5 million call for research projects to improve the lives of people living with or at risk of dementia, and their family and other carers with proposals due by 7 September 2022.

The Three Schools’ Dementia Research Programme is supporting the NIHR’s commitment to developing the next generation of dementia researchers. NIHR, working in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society, has today announced £7.5 million of new funding to strengthen capacity and capability in dementia health and care research across the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs).

Find out more about the Three Schools’ Dementia Research Programme here.