GMMH shortlisted in two categories at NIHR Health & Care Research Awards 2023
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has announced its finalists for this year’s Greater Manchester Health & Care Research Awards 2023. Despite tough competition from a large number of nominees, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) has made the shortlist in two of the eleven categories.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the awards, at which organisations who delivered or enabled the delivery of NIHR-funded research (called NIHR CRN Portfolio research) are celebrated for strides made in health and care research.
GMMH’s Research & Innovation department are delighted to be shortlisted for the following categories:
Award Category: Outstanding Achievement by a Team – GMMH’s Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) study team
People with OCD encounter a pattern of unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that can lead to repetitive behaviours (compulsions). These obsessions and compulsions can interfere with a person’s daily activities. GMMH is working with pharmaceutical company Biohaven to trial the effects of a new ‘investigational’ drug, Troriluzole, and evaluate its effectiveness in treating OCD symptoms, and whether participants with OCD find it easy to use.
The randomised controlled trial sees participants given Troriluzole or a placebo for a period of three months, with regular assessments to see how the participant’s health and mental health have changed, with a particular focus on the severity of OCD symptoms.
One participant told us:
“The medication is going well - although it's not fixed my OCD, it has significantly reduced it - probably the best I've been in 10 years. There are, increasingly, moments when I realise I haven't had any intrusive thoughts at all or capable of thinking any - which is a miracle really.”
The trial is still ongoing, with a number of participants opting to be part of the extended trial of 96 weeks.
Award Category: Best Contribution to Research Delivery outside of the NHS – Lumi-Nova "Tales of Courage” study team : GM.Digital Research Unit (GMMH and the Centre for Women’s Mental Health at the University of Manchester)
Lumi Nova: Tales of Courage is a therapeutic mobile game for childhood anxiety. The immersive game is designed for children aged between seven and twelve years old to teach young people to self-manage their fears and worries.
The principles behind Lumi Nova are based on exposure therapy – a highly effective part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – which involves setting goals, breaking down fears into manageable steps and gradually attempting these fears.
GMMH and the University of Manchester partnered with BfB Labs to deliver research into the effectiveness of Lumi Nova for children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Wigan and Bolton. Whilst we know the game has been effective in helping children with mild to moderate anxiety, this research aims to make Lumi Nova more accessible for economically disadvantaged children – GM.Digital has achieved this by working directly with schools in Wigan and Bolton.
Sarah Fallon, Chief Operating Officer for NIHR Clinical Research Network Greater Manchester, said:
“Our judges were highly impressed by the quality of nominations and it was an extremely difficult task to separate the submissions and select this year’s finalists.
“The shortlist features an impressive array of teams, individuals and projects which have made a real difference to the delivery of research across health and care settings in our region over the past year.
“We’re extremely grateful to everyone who took the time and effort to recognise a colleague or team with a nomination and we would like to congratulate all of our finalists on being shortlisted in this special tenth anniversary year of our awards.”
A full list of the awards categories and finalists can be found here .
The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday 5 October 2023 at the Etihad Stadium. Damien Longson, John Sainsbury, Heidi Tranter, Georgia Addison, Niamh Bolton, Leanne Howieson and Sehrish Shafique will be flying the flag for GMMH, and we wish them the best of luck!
