Three NIHR Research Schools' Mental Health Programme

MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH PROGRAMME

The NIHR Schools for Primary Care Research (SPCR), Public Health Research (SPHR) and Social Care Research (SSCR) (“three Schools”) have joined together in a unique collaboration between leading academic centres in England to collaborate on a programme of work on mental health, led by the SPCR and funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR):

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

The Three NIHR Research Schools' Mental Health Programme are interested in commissioning research to evaluate interventions aimed at reducing suicide attempts and suicide.

We have a maximum budget of £400,000 and are looking only to fund one research award. For this round, we are particularly interested in research that will rapidly be able to demonstrate impact and/or inform policy.

Suicide Prevention Call - deadline 12 noon on Thursday 30 January 2025.

Find out more

IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH

By working collaboratively across primary care, public health and social care, we will address problems in a multi-professional, multi-disciplinary way and at the individual, family, group and population levels using a variety of methodological approaches. The NIHR Schools for Primary Care, Public Health and Social Care are uniquely placed to deliver this ambitious programme. We have strengths in mental health, learning disability and autism research and are committed to working more closely together to generate high-quality evidence that improves the health and wellbeing of the population in underserved areas. By working together, we can take a more holistic view of mental health, avoiding traditional ‘siloed’ research and generating the evidence needed by individuals, families, practitioners and policy makers. We will draw on our expertise and established networks to ensure patient, carer, service user, public and community engagement and work across traditional disciplinary and sector boundaries. This funding of over £7M will allow us to commission research and practitioner evaluations and to increase research capacity through fellowships and career development awards.

Award Holders - Phase 1

Funding of over £7M has allowed us to commission research projects, practitioner evaluation scheme awards and to increase research capacity through fellowships, career development awards and master's scholarships.

Meet our Award Holders

Award Holders - Phase 2

We are thrilled to announce that the National Health Institute for Health and Social care (NIHR) has invested a further £4.98 million in the Three NIHR Research Schools’ Mental Health Programme.

Meet our Award Holders

Three Schools' Mental Health Programme 2022 - 2024 Case Study

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From adversity into action, using your experience to help others

Click on the image below to watch on YouTube.

For Health and Social Care Professionals: Smoking & mental health

Click on the image below to watch on YouTube.

Smoking and Mental Health, A short video for health and social care professionals produced by the Mental Elf for the NIHR Three Schools #smokingandmentalhealth

Three Research Schools - Seminar Series

The programme aims to promote shared learning, capacity building, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. We host an online seminar series to support these objectives. The online seminars are open to all award holders, their extended teams, and anyone interested in the topic.

Go to Seminars

Showcase 2023

On Thursday 22 June 2023 the Three NIHR Research Schools’ Mental Health Research Programme held their first showcase.

More information from the event can be found via the link below:

ECR Forum

On Wednesday 7 December 2022 the Three NIHR Research Schools’ Mental Health and Dementia Research Programme held their Early Career Research Forum:

Presentations from the session are available via the links below:

Go to presentations

What's New

NIHR Mental Health Fellowship Yields Insights on Primary Care and Parkinson’s Risk

23 January 2025

Dr. Juan Carlos Bazo Alvarez, a former NIHR Three Research Schools' Mental Health Programme Fellow, has recently celebrated the publication of two research papers stemming from his Fellowship.

Editorial Highlights Digital Technology's Role in Mental Health Care

13 January 2025

A new editorial in BMC Digital Health explores the transformative potential of digital tools, such as mobile apps and online therapy, in addressing global mental health challenges. Anna Price was funded by a NIHR Three Schools’ Mental Health Research Fellowship.