Leicestershire County Council, in partnership with local universities, has secured £5.25m of funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) project.
Loughborough University, The University of Leicester, De Montfort University, and University of Nottingham, as well as Leicestershire Academic Health Partners, which includes the NHS and health-focused academic organisations, are key partners for the innovative collaboration.
The NIHR funds enable and deliver world-leading health and social care research that improves people's health and wellbeing, and promotes economic growth.
Some areas of the county have an average living age of up to six years lower compared to others, with health factors influenced by education, employment, housing, and air quality.
The five-year programme will unlock the ability to work with partners in the university, voluntary, community, and health sectors to improve the health of Leicestershire residents.
Using the money, the Leicestershire HDRC will:
- fund research on local health topics to see how they impact residents, and how to reduce health inequalities
- invest money to talk to residents and local groups about health issues that matter and affect them
- ensure that local authority decisions impacting health are fully understood and evidence-based
- enable research with communities and universities to inform key projects on a wide range of topics that will impact health, such as transport, employment, and air quality
- ensure research becomes a part of the day-to-day business of the county council across all departments to enable long-term culture change in Leicestershire
The NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and the £5.25m is given specifically to the council for this project.
To ensure research is guided by the health needs and priorities of residents and local communities, a Citizen's Assembly will take place in March, where you can take part and help shape the work to make researchers aware of the challenges that matter most to local people and communities.