Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust showcases national and international research programme
Groundbreaking national and international mental health research being carried out in the Avon and Wiltshire area will be showcased this week.
The ‘Innovating Mental Health Care’ conference brings together leading researchers who are striving to find new and innovative treatments for mental health problems. Delegates will also hear how cutting edge research offers service users more choice and the chance to contribute to the development of effective treatments.
A diverse range of research being carried out in Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) will be highlighted, in areas including dementia; how art and activity groups may help people with schizophrenia; computer-based therapies which may benefit children with emotional disorders, and ways of reducing suicides in people who have been discharged from inpatient mental health services.
The ‘Innovating Mental Health Care’ Research and Development Showcase takes place on Wednesday 4 November in Chippenham.
AWP is a significant provider of specialist mental health services. The trust will have research income of approximately £3m in 2009/10 and works closely with major universities including the Universities of Bristol, West of England, Bath, Oxford and Imperial College.
More than 120 research projects were supported within AWP in 2008/9.
AWP Director of Research and Development Dr Tony Soteriou said, “The AWP research and development showcase is an exciting opportunity to share the cutting edge work going on in our area.
“We constantly look for new and innovative ways of providing care and we are always working to increase the opportunities for our service users to take part in high quality, national and international research and development.”
Research in AWP being showcased at the event includes:
• A trial of art therapy and activity groups for people with schizophrenia. Funded by the Government's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme, the study explores the impact of service users attending art therapy/activity groups compared with receiving standard treatment only. More than 100 AWP service users have been recruited to take part in the trial, the largest carried out in the trust.
• A study aiming to find out whether providing group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in schools can help prevent depression in high risk adolescents. CBT is the term for a number of therapies designed to help people solve problems in their lives, such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, and works by changing people's attitudes and their behaviour. Emotional disorders in children are common with 4-8% of children affected by a severe disorder. If left untreated, emotional disorders can persist and increase the risk of anxiety, depression, drug dependence and educational underachievement in young adulthood. (Funded by Government's NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme).
• A pilot study looking at computerised CBT for children with emotional disorders. The study is funded by the NIHR’s Research for Patient Benefit Research Programme and hopes to provide evidence to help treat a growing problem.
• A four-year research programme exploring how best to reduce rates of suicide in people who have been discharged from inpatient mental health services. The study looks at the effectiveness of sending letters offering information and support as a way of maintaining additional regular contact. This study is funded by NIHR and being carried out in AWP in collaboration with the universities of Oxford, Bristol and Manchester.
• Research looking at innovative treatment for people with dementia undertaken within AWP by the Kingshill Research Centre, based in Swindon. The Kingshill Research Centre is a centre of national excellence in undertaking clinical trials of new and treatments for older people with Dementia, and providing support for carers.
• A national study into the effectiveness of Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) introduced last year for service users with psychotic disorders with a history of repeated readmission. (Funded by NIHR).
AWP holds contracts with the Department of Health to host both the South West Mental Health Research Network and the South West Dementias and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network.