Our Joint Research Strategy with University College London | News

At the beginning of the year, the North London Mental Health Partnership and University College London (UCL) launched a Joint Research Strategy to highlight our research priorities over the next five years. 

Within the Partnership's strategy, one of the key aims is to prioritise pioneering research, quality improvement and technology. In order to improve the quality of care our patients receive, research has also been placed front and centre of the Partnership's priorities.

Our joint research strategy has been shaped by local and national drivers. Conversations with our key internal and external stakeholders and the wider community have taken place, providing valuable feedback from academics, service users, clinical staff, primary care and the Integrated Care Board (ICB). The feedback we received has helped shape our plans for the future. 

In summary, our strategic priorities for research are: 
1. To lead pragmatic clinical trials in common mental disorders

2. To drive innovative approaches in computational psychiatry towards practical benefits including preventative programmes for high-risk groups, treatments tailored to particular neurocognitive profiles, and improvement in hit-rate for translational interventions.

3. To build on our strengths in Children and Young People’s Mental Health (CYP MH) with a particular view to uncover mechanisms that promote wellbeing and prevent mental illness.

4. To continue our work on the physical/mental health interface to increase understanding of mind-body in health and disease including studies aimed at mitigating the reduced life expectancy of people with serious mental illness.

5. Applied Mental Health Research including:
• Programmes developing and evaluating interventions that address key areas identified by service users, practitioners and policy makers.
• Epidemiological work to investigate the social determinants of mental health inequalities and translate such evidence into interventions, e.g. reducing ethnic inequalities.
• Being a key source of evidence to inform implementation, policy and planning through the NIHR Policy Research Units in Mental Health & Behavioural Science, the Evidence Based Practice Unit and the UCL Centre for Outcomes Research and Effectiveness (CORE).

6. To lead in the development and trialling of drug and psychosocial interventions in serious and mental illness (SMI), Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Take a look at the strategy here: A Joint Research Strategy for the North London Mental Health Partnership & University College London.

We’d like to thank the authors of the strategy: 
* Lynis Lewis - Director of Research, North London Mental Health Partnership Service Director, Noclor NHS Research Office
* Professor Anthony David - Director, UCL Institute of Mental Health Professor of Mental Health, University College London
* Our stakeholders both internal and external, and the wider community for their invaluable feedback and strategic insights. 

Read the full Joint Research Strategy for the North London Mental Health Partnership & University College London here:   A Joint Research Strategy for the North London Mental Health Partnership & University College London.pdf