National Institute for Health and Care Research

We speak to Professor Jonathan Wadsley, the NIHR Specialty Lead for Cancer Radiotherapy and Imaging Research about risk factors for cancer, what research has found so far, why some cancers are more challenging to research than others and what's next for cancer research.Visit show notes and transcript.

People living with dementia need care that promotes continence, manages continence problems as they arise, and always preserves their dignity. Recent NIHR research has explored the impact of continence problems on people living with dementia, their carers and the professionals looking after them. The research suggests changes that would help ensure that people receive the high quality, personalised continence care they need. In this podcast, Helen Saul speaks with Katie Featherstone, Professor of Sociology in Medicine and Director of the Geller Institute at the University of West London; Karen Harrison Dening, Head of Research at Dementia UK and Professor of Dementia Nursing at De Montfort University; Zena Aldridge, Regional Clinical Advisor (dementia) NHS England & Improvement and Suzy Webster, a carer whose mum is living with dementia. They discuss the impact of continence care on this vulnerable population and share insights from their lived experiences and research.Read a full transcript of the episode here.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. 

This podcast explores aphasia which is a language and communication disorder usually caused by damage to the left side of the brain, most commonly after a stroke.  Speech and language therapists work with patients and their carers to help them improve their speech and use alternative ways of communicating. In this episode, we talk to Dr Rebecca Palmer about a research study called Big CACTUS and what everyone learnt from taking part. Read the shownotes and the transcript.

Dementia is one of the main causes of death in the UK and it regularly makes the headlines when high profile people choose to share their diagnosis or when there are new findings of possible causes.  In this episode, we talk to  Professor John O’Brien who is the NIHR Speciality Lead for Dementia and Professor of Old Age Psychiatry. We explore why dementia rates are increasing, what research has found so far and what research is being done currently to improve diagnosis, treatment and care. Visit shownotes and transcript.

To mark International Nurses Day 2022 we talk with NIHR Associate Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Lead Matron at the NIHR Clinical Research Facility in Southampton and former president of the International Association of Clinical Research Nurses (IACRN), Jennifer Allison. Jennifer discusses how she got into research, the IACRN's International Nurses Day celebrations and promoting research nursing globally.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.  International Nurses Day 2022- Celebrating Research Nursing with the IACRN full transcript 

Senior nurse at the James Paget University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust and NIHR 70@70 Senior Research Leader alumni, Claire Whitehouse discusses her journey into research, how COVID impacted international collaboration and the ground-breaking UK and Ireland nursing and midwifery census. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. International Nurses Day 2022- Research Nurses and International Collaboration full transcript

Joining Dr Neil Hill and Reuben Lewis in this episode is Siân Rilstone - a Research Dietician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.Siân discusses the research projects she is working on, exploring how people living with diabetes can exercise safely.Siân also shares her thoughts on the importance of focussing on both diet and exercise to manage diabetes effectively, and the most impactful types of exercise.Anyone interested in taking part in research can search for studies on the Be Part of Research website.People living in North West London can join the Discover register to be kept informed of local opportunities to get involved.Conversations About Diabetes Research - episode 5 transcript.

Denis Collen joins Dr Neil Hill and Reuben Lewis in this episode, sharing his experience of living with diabetes since his diagnosis in 2010.Denis is heavily involved in patient advocacy work. Among the many initiatives, he has worked on is a campaign to ensure all parks in Harrow, London, have an outdoor gym.He is also a strong advocate for research, talking about his role as a volunteer and why he thinks others would benefit from taking part too.Anyone interested in taking part in research can search for studies on the Be Part of Research website.People living in North West London can join the Discover register to be kept informed of local opportunities to get involved.Conversations About Diabetes Research - episode 4 transcript

Tara Lamont, Senior Scientific Advisor for HSDR, talks to Dr Nick Watts, Chief Sustainability Officer for NHS England and Professor Mahmood Bhutta, Consultant ENT Surgeon, about what greening the NHS and social care means, and what the research agenda is. The NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme is accepting stage one applications to a funding opportunity supporting the delivery of net zero health and social care system. The programme is interested in receiving applications for high quality and timely evaluative research of existing and/or new initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in care pathways and health and social care services, including their implementation or service re-design models, whilst ensuring health and social care system resilience to climate change. The evaluation of initiatives or service re-design should not be focused on a single local site but should be more generalisable and therefore multi-site with a view to learning at a national level.https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/21577-supporting-the-delivery-of-net-zero-health-and-social-care-system/29190  

Digital technology is making it easier for people living with diabetes to self-manage their condition. This episode explores the cutting-edge research that has led to the advancement of these technologies, and what the future holds.Joining Dr Neil Hill and Reuben Lewis is Professor Nick Oliver - a Diabetes Consultant at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Professor of Human Metabolism at Imperial College London. He is also a Clinical Divisional Lead at the NIHR Clinical Research Network North West London.Professor Oliver discusses the research he is working on, the challenges of developing technology, and what’s on the horizon for people living with diabetes.Find out more online about diabetes research at Imperial College London.Anyone interested in taking part in research can search for studies on the Be Part of Research website.People living in North West London can join the Discover register to be kept informed of local opportunities to get involved.Conversations About Diabetes Research - episode 3 transcript.