DEM-COMM programme Building Capacity in Dementia Research DEM-COMM has been a successful capacity-building scheme for post-doctoral researchers working in applied dementia research. The scheme launched on October 1st, 2022, with funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Alzheimer’s Society, and will run until March 31st, 2026. The aim of DEM-COMMhas been to prepare a future cohort of researchers for the role of Chief Investigator in applied dementia research. This is an important and specialised role that carries with it the expectation that the lives of people living with (or at risk of) dementia will improve because of research. The scheme supported the development of more than 70 early to mid-career researchers working in one of the 15 Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) across England. Read the full report Supporting the future generation of Chief Investigators in Applied Dementia Research Independent report on Mapping Dementia Research Capacity - Mapping career development opportunities in applied dementia research Dementia Festival 2025 report DEM-COMM is led by Professor Ruth Bartlett with ARC Wessex as the host and coordinating centre. In 2026 we celebrated the end of the DEM-COMM programme at an event in Southampton - below are just some of the videos and images from that day Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur explains how important the work of the Dementia Fellows has been and how personal it is to her. Lisa Hammond from the Alzheimer's Society who part funded the Dem-Comm fellowships praises their impact on the lives of people with dementia and their carers and families. Watch the DEMCOMM showreel created to celebrate all the hard work and achievements of the NIHR Dementia Fellows DEM-COMM Research Fellows Dementia Post Doctoral Awards NIHR ARC East of England NIHR ARC East of England is using the funding to support post-doctoral career development awards combined with co-funding from our university partners (Cambridge, Hertfordshire, East Anglia, and Essex) to help promising researchers develop their skills and establish their own research projects, programmes and networks. DEM-COMM research fellows: 1. Dr Tamara Backhouse (UEA) - Optimising personal care assistance for people with advanced dementia 2. Dr Smruti Bulsari (Essex) – Researching in the area of dementia strategies. 3. Dr Julieta Camino (UEA) - Project TBC 4. Dr Megan Davies (UEA) How prehabilitation/rehabilitation can be implemented as a person-centred activity for people living in care homes, including those with dementia. 5. Dr Anna Dreyer - (Cambridge) – Social determinants in cognitive impairment and dementia 6. Dr Greg Windle - (Hertfordshire) - Investigating dementia-friendly community care in the East of England Read more NIHR ARC East Midlands DEM-COMM research fellows: 1. Dr Neil Chadborn - (Nottingham) – Access to technology and needs of people from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. 2. Dr Esther Loseto-Gerritzen - (Nottingham) – Exploring the needs of people with young onset dementia in terms of care and technology. 3. Dr Orii McDermott - (Nottingham) – Addressing unmet needs of people living with young onset dementia. Read more NIHR ARC Greater Manchester DEM-COMM research fellows: 1. Dr Emma Elliott (Manchester): Deconditioning in hospitalised patients with dementia. This involves a systematic review to examine evidence of physical activity interventions for hospitalised patients with dementia. The protocol is registered on PROSPERO here. 2. Dr Sarah Fox - (Manchester) - Everyday aesthetics and the intersection of arts and health: Everyday aesthetics and the intersection of arts and health: Involves the use of a participatory approach to develop, deliver and evaluate a tailored, multi-arts social intervention with people with dementia living at home. Read more 3. Dr Jaheeda Gangannagaripalli - (Manchester) - Keep On Keep Up (KOKU) Digital technologies for falls preventions for people with dementia: The digital exercise programme is being modified for people with dementia. This fellowship will build on this to develop an intervention modification and feasibility RCT. Read more 4. Dr Sarah Smith (Manchester): Assessing the effects of physical activity interventions on the maintenance of cognitive function in midlife to reduce the risk of cognitive decline. The results of this systematic review will be explored with Public and Community Involvement and Engagement (PCIE) representatives and relevant stakeholders. Assessment of the need for a feasibility study will then follow. The protocol can be found on PROSPERO here. NIHR ARC Kent, Surrey and Sussex DEM-COMM research fellows: 1. Dr Alessandro Bosco - (Brighton and Sussex) – Project TBC 2. Dr Georgia Bell - (Brighton and Sussex) - Loneliness and dementia 3. Dr Barbora Silarova - (Kent) - Supporting wellbeing, quality of life and access to services for those with dementia living alone or in hard-to-reach areas and their unpaid carers 4. Dr Rasa Mikelyte - (Kent) - Integration of services for seamless dementia care Sarah Polack - (Brighton and Sussex) - Supporting well-being for people with dementia in deprived coastal communities/rural populations Read more NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) new dementia-focussed post-doctoral fellowships focus on: Care and support in socially disadvantaged communities. Care for dementia and multiple long-term conditions. Social care to maintain independence and dignity. The role of technology in dementia care will cut across the work programme. DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr James Faraday - (Newcastle) - Mealtime care for people living with dementia in care homes. 2. Dr Steven Lyons (Newcastle) Investigating how music provides opportunities for residents in care homes to live healthy lives, build relationships and maintain independence and dignity. 3. Dr Marie Poole - (Newcastle) - Two core areas: 1. the role of new Integrated Care Systems (ICS) in the provision of dementia care for people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds; Dr Connor Richardson - (Newcastle) - An investigation into the effects of anti-inflammatory medication have on risk of in life dementia and pathology in a population representative cohort age 65 years and over using the CFAS population 4. 2. The role of sporting clubs as emerging providers of dementia support to engage with people from socially disadvantaged communities. 5. Dr Tamlyn Watermeyer - (Northumbria University) - Involving people with Learning Disabilities in dementia research & care through technological solutions. NIHR ARC North Thames DEM-COMM Research Fellows: Alex Tsui - (UCL) - Acute care of people living with dementia Esther Hui - (UCL) - Risk factors for dementia prevention 1. Dr Kumud Kantilal (UCL) Project TBC NIHR ARC Northwest London The ARC researchers will work collaboratively on three projects: · Development, piloting, and evaluation of community-based case-finding and support for individuals with cognitive impairment or dementia, delivered by Community Health and Wellbeing Workers (CHWWs); · CHARIOT PRO, a prospective longitudinal, biomarker and data – enriched study of cognitively healthy individuals, aiming to evaluate key biological mechanisms and identify risk in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD); and · eFINGER PRINT a population-based study for ADRD prevention, and includes piloting of innovative e-based assessments and interventions for self-led lifestyle change. DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr Roxanna Korologou-Linden (Imperial) - Project TBC. 2. Dr Sujin Kang - (Imperial) Dr Roxanna Korologou-Linden (Imperial) Cognitive Health in Ageing Register: Investigational, Observational, and Trial Studies in Dementia Research (CHARIOT): Prospective Readiness cOhort Study(PRO). Dr Pallavi Nair - (Imperial) - identification and support of individuals with dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the community setting by community health and wellbeing workers (CHWWs). See ARC NWL site NIHR ARC North West Coast The NIHR ARC North West Coast projects are underpinned by a focus on health inequalities in dementia, building on the strength of our ARC and its ongoing dementia portfolio, including at the Liverpool Dementia & Ageing Research Forum, which will act as a key outlet for disseminating the research nationally and internationally. DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr Sandra Ismail (Liverpool) - Religiosity and spirituality in risks of cognitive frailty and dementia 2. Dr Laura Prato - (Liverpool) - Dementia care navigators 3. Dr Megan Polden - (Liverpool) - Examining the impacts of singing support services for people living with dementia and their carers on well-being, quality of life, social isolation, and loneliness. 4. Dr Megan Readman - (Liverpool) - Parkinson’s disease dementia and link with hearing loss NIHR ARC Oxford and Thames Valley NIHR ARC Oxford and Thames Valley researchers are active in the development of applied health and social care research across all stages of the NHS Well Pathway for Dementia: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, community support, and palliative care. Areas include: Detailed phenotyping at pre-diagnosis and diagnosis (preventing well, diagnosing well) Mapping diagnostic trajectories and longer-term support needs (supporting well, living well, dying well) Reducing inequalities in dementia prevention and access to health and social care services (all NHS Well Pathway stages) DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr Ting Cai - (Oxford) - Exploring preventive medications for dementia: big-data based pharmacoepidemiological research 2. Dr Padraig Dixon - (Oxford) - Understanding the cost-effectiveness of drug therapies (particularly repurposed drug therapies) to prevent and treat conditions. 3. Dr Jiamin Du - (Oxford) - Early diagnosis of dementia and real-world data. 4. Joseph Kwon - (Oxford) - Whole-disease economic modelling of dementia prevention and care 5. Dr Caroline Potter - (Oxford) - Exploring the availability and effectiveness of community-based support for enabling people to maintain health and wellbeing following initial diagnosis of dementia or its precursor (MCI). 6. Dr Subhashisa Swain - (Oxford) - Biological ageing in dementia and multimorbidity trajectories and clusters. NIHR ARC South London NIHR ARC South London is building research capacity in palliative and social care for people living with dementia through two interventions: Co-designing a validated tool with family carers, to support care, decision-making and access to services. The Integrated Person-centred Outcome Scale in dementia (IPOS-Dem) tool includes assessment of symptoms, emotional, spiritual and information needs and will be integrated with telehealth. Developing interventions to support care homes in better meeting residents’ spiritual needs, particularly those living with dementia from minority cultural or faith backgrounds. The research will be informed by perspectives of care home staff, residents living with dementia, and their family and friends to increase understanding of the beliefs and spiritual needs of residents living with dementia. Guidance and policies will be developed to help care home staff support spiritual care. DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr Annabel Farnood - (KCL) - Empowering better end of life dementia care for family carers of people with dementia’ (EMBED-Care4FamilyCarers) 2. Dr Olivia Luijnenburg - (KCL) - Spirituality in residential care for people living with dementia: implementing reflective tools for care workers of people living with dementia. (SpiritDem for short) 3. Dr Lesley Williamson - (KCL) - Using routine data to understand and improve health and social care for people with dementia near the end of life NIHR ARC Wessex The NIHR ARC Wessex Ageing and Dementia theme focusses on independent living with and for older people with complex health and social care needs. DEM-COMM Research Fellows: Dr Nuno Tavares - (Portsmouth) - Exploring the self-management process of other long-term conditions in people living with Dementia Dr Catherine Murphy - (Southampton) - Dementia and continence management: Supporting homecare workers Dr Gladys Yinusa - (Bournemouth) - TOMATO: nuTritiOn and deMentia AT hOme - Watch Gladys explain - download TOMATO resources Dr Pippa Collins (Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust) - An ethnographic exploration into the work of caring for paid homecare workers NIHR ARC West DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr Katie Breheny - (Bristol) - To improve use of preference-based outcome measures in the economic evaluation of interventions for people with dementia 2. Dr Elisabeth (Lis) Grey - (Bristol) - Evaluation of a Parkinson's Treatment Hub and development of dementia interventions and evaluation tools to support people from diverse communities 3. Dr Natasha Woodstoke - (UWE) - Supporting families to adjust to a diagnosis of dementia: Adapting the LivDem intervention NIHR ARC West Midlands The ARC funding, provided by NIHR in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society, is supporting a cohort of post-doctoral health and care researchers toward independence, developing their skills to establish their own research projects, programmes and ultimately groups. NIHR ARC West Midlands DEM-COMM Research Fellows are: 1. Dr Paul Campbell - (Keele) - Social Care Practice 2. Dr Sue Molesworth - (Keele) - Dementia’s place within the developing ICS/ICB landscape/multidisciplinary approaches 3. Dr Chris Poyner - (Birmingham) - People living with Dementia and informal carer/family experience within a social care context. NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber is examining how potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia intersect with ethnicity and sociodemographic factors (University of Bradford), and a quantitative investigation of the policy impact of interventions to target dementia risk factors across ethnic groups and by deprivation using cohort study and routinely available, linked health and care datasets. in addition a Alzheimer’s Society postdoctoral research fellow is focusing on prevention of dementia, taking into account wider sociodemographic factors. DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr Amirah Akhtar - (Bradford) - Promoting healthy lifestyles to reduce dementia risk factors in minority ethnic communities. 2. Dr Lin Gong – (Leeds) Dementia prevention and health inequalities among different ethnical groups. 3. Dr Emmanuel Nwofe (Bradford) Dementia prevention and health inequalities among different ethnical groups. NIHR ARC South West Peninsula ARC South West Peninsula have awarded fellowships to 4 early-career researchers, giving them the experience and training to help them to develop into future leaders in dementia research. DEM-COMM Research Fellows: 1. Dr Catherine Alexander - (Exeter) - IDEAL project 2. Dr Iliana Lourida - (Exeter) - TBC 3. Dr Tomasina Oh - (Plymouth) - TBC 4. Dr Hannah Wheat - (Plymouth) - D-PACT; ENLIVEN Projects Read more here

Research Fellow < Back Skaiste Linceviciute Research Fellow Long Term Conditions Skaiste Linceviciute is a Research Fellow at the ARC Wessex Mental Health Hub at the University of Southampton appointed to work on projects related to the Long-Term Conditions and Ageing and Dementia themes. Skaiste brings expertise as a qualitative researcher in areas on uncovering the challenges and unmet needs of people living with long-term physical and mental conditions as well as pursuing research on person-centered support systems. Skaiste is also the Mental Health Hub's Researcher Representative for the ARC Public Involvement Forum Wessex, working together with other contributors ensuring research meaningfully addresses community priorities and is guided by people with lived experience. Previous Next

af50ff28-5b02-41fa-bc1f-f9689464860e EnTech (Enabling Technology): Investigating the enabling and inhibiting factors to the use of internet-based support tools for caregivers of people with dementia, and how to promote engagement. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us.

Glossary of Terms Accessibility Accessibility is about making sure that things can be accessed and used by as many people as possible. This includes people with impaired vision, motor difficulties, cognitive impairments, learning disabilities and deafness or impaired hearing. APIF The ARC Public Involvement Forum - this is our strategic PPIEP group. It is composed of Theme Public Advisors, the PPIEP team and staff links for each research theme. ARC funded or ARC supported studies Our research may be directly financed by our ARC ('ARC funded') or we may provide support, such as by providing staff resource ('ARC supported'). ARC or Applied Research Collaboration ARCs support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems. They are funded by the NIHR. There are 15 funded across England. ARC Partnership Board This is a decision-making body for ARC Wessex. It meets quarterly to set priorities and directly contribute to, support delivery and monitor performance of our programme. The board membership has two public representatives. BRC or Biomedical Research Centre BRCs bring together academics and clinicians to translate lab-based scientific breakthroughs into potential new treatments, diagnostics and medical technologies. There are 20 NIHR funded BRCs in England. Our Strategic Lead for PPI/E also leads PPI for the Southampton BRC. Our researchers also work closely with staff in the BRC. CCF or Clinical Commissioning Facility They manage and administer the ARC funding scheme. We report to them annually and will have to report our progress against this strategy. CLAHRC or Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care This is the term for the organisations which preceded the ARCs. They were also funded by the NIHR and had a similar function. This funding scheme closed in Sept 2019 when the ARC scheme succeeded them. Communications and Partnership Manager This role has responsibility for shaping and delivering our communications, and supporting productive relationships across our partners. This post is currently filled by Jamie Stevenson. CRF or Clinical Research Facility CRFs are purpose built facilities in NHS hospitals where researchers can deliver early-phase and complex studies. There are 22 NIHR funded CRFs in England. Our Strategic Lead for PPI/E also leads PPI for the Southampton CRF. Engagement Where information and knowledge is provided and shared with the public. Equality impact assessments The equality impact assessment is a systematic and evidence-based tool, which enables us to consider the likely impact of work on different groups of people. They help ensure that activities do not discriminate against anyone and that, where possible, we promote equality of opportunity. Executive Leadership Group This group operationalises strategy, policy and the research programme. The group is led by the ARC Director; the Strategic Lead for PPI/E and Communications and the Partnership Manager are members. Fellowship Fellowships are a type of research funding which are awarded to individuals. For example, a fellowship may enable a person to complete the next stage of their academic career training. Higher Education Institutes This term describes any institution that provides education post-secondary education level, for example Universities. INCLUDE This guidance provides a suggested framework of questions to guide the deliberations of funders, researchers and delivery teams as they design and assess clinical research proposals to improve inclusion of under-served groups in clinical research. Read more . INVOLVE INVOLVE was a national coordinating centre for public involvement in health and care. It was funded by the National Institute for Health Research between 1996-2020. A new Centre for Engagement and Dissemination aims to build on the work of INVOLVE. Lifelab A unique, state-of-the-art teaching laboratory dedicated to improving adolescent health by giving school students opportunities to learn first-hand the science behind the health messages. Logic modelling and theory of change A theory of change is a description of why a particular way of working will be effective, showing how change happens in the short, medium and long term to achieve its intended impact. Logic models are a way to graphically represent this theory. Our Strategic Lead for PPI/E supervises a PhD student who has developed a PPI/E planning and impact tool, underpinned by the theory of change and a logic model. We aim to use this to capture impacts of the ARC PPI/E programme. Manager for PPI/E This role has responsibility for shaping and delivering our PPI/E strategy. They also lead PPI/E for other NIHR organisations. The post is currently filled by Annemarie Henkinson. Microsoft Accessibility Checker A free tool available in Office 365. It finds most accessibility issues and explains why each might be a potential problem for someone with a disability. It also offers suggestions on how to resolve each issue. Read more . NHS providers This term describes any organisation that provides NHS services. This includes hospitals, community trusts, GP services, pharmacies and clinical commissioning groups. NIHR or National Institute for Health and Care Research The National Institute for Health Research is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. It funds health and care research, providing the people, facilities and technology for research to thrive. Patient and public involvement Research carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them. Members of the public can be involved at all stages of a research project and across all levels of research organisations. PhD award A PhD award is a research award which supports an individual to study for their doctorate. PPI Champions Our PPI Champions are members of the public. They have a strategic role in our organisation. This includes working closely with the leadership of one of our research themes and with our PPI/E team. We try to have two PPI Champions per research theme. PPI Officer Our PPI Officer is a member of staff dedicated to supporting good PPI/EP. PPI/EP An acronym for patient and public involvement engagement and participation. Used to describe work and projects which connect or encompass both activities. Population risk stratification and intervention to prevent childhood obesity This project aims to test the feasibility and acceptability of a childhood obesity prediction tool and online platform for health visitors to use when supporting families to lead healthier life styles. The involvement work will focus on working with the underserved, such as those from deprived or ethnic minority groups, who are most at risk of childhood obesity. Principal Investigator In studies or trials, this term is often used to describe the person who holds the research grant. They are the lead researcher for the project, Public Engagement in Research Unit This unit exists to inspire and support high quality public engagement with research across all disciplines at the University of Southampton. Public Policy Unit This unit, at the University of Southampton, helps researchers connect with policymakers to better support evidence-based policymaking. Socio economic status This term describes an individual's or family's economic and social position. It is a predictor of outcomes across the life span. Staff links Each theme has a nominated PPI/E staff link. This is a member of their research team. They are members of our strategic PPI/E group, APIF. Sure Start Sure Start is a government area-based initiative that was founded with the aim of 'giving children the best possible start in life' through improvement of childcare, early education, health and family support. Theme Public Advisors OurTheme Public Advisors are members of the public. They have a strategic role in our organisation. This includes working closely with the leadership of one of our research themes and with our PPIEP team. We try to have twoTheme Public Advisors per research theme. PPIOfficer Our PPIOfficer is a member of staff dedicated to supporting good PPIEP. Training Needs Analysis This is a process to determine all the training that needs to be completed (and when) to allow someone to complete their job as effectively as possible, as well as progress and grow. UK Standards for Public Involvement The standards are a framework for what good public involvement in research looks like. They provide clear, concise statements of effective public involvement against which improvement can be assessed. They were developed as a partnership of organisations across the UK, including the NIHR. Underserved Underserved is the term we have chosen to use to describe people who are less well included in research. We prefer this term because it highlights that the research community needs to provide a better service for these individuals. Wessex Wessex is the region covering Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and South Wiltshire.

e468f3be-ad28-42e2-8ec5-7270d68258c8 ADOPTED: Treatment burden in people below the age of 65 with multimorbidity in primary care: A mixed methods (SPELL) Principal Investigator: Dr Rachel Johnson, University of Bristol Team: Prof Chris Salisbury, University of Bristol Prof Jose Valderas, University of Exteter Dr Simon Fraser, Univeristy of Southampton Dr Maria Panagioti, University of Manchester Dr Tom Blakeman, Univeristy of Manchester Dr Shoba Dawson, University of Bristol Dr Polly Duncan, University of Bristol Dr Michael Lawton, University of Bristol Start Date: 1 February 2022 End Date: 31 July 2024 Background One in two people over the age of 50 have more than one long term health condition (multimorbidity). The number of people living with multimorbidity is growing. Compared with people without multimorbidity, people with multimorbidity have worse quality of life, take more medicines, and are more likely to die or to be admitted to hospital. More people in deprived areas develop multimorbidity at a younger age. As a group, people with multimorbidity have more contacts with healthcare services than people with one or no long-term conditions. Because of this the NHS and policy-makers want to find ways to manage multimorbidity better. People with multimorbidity put a lot of effort to manage their medicines and healthcare appointments (treatment burden). There is some research that younger people experience more treatment burden. Previous research tells us that sometimes it is the simple things like getting appointments with the GP and finding parking that cause the most burden. Although people with multimorbidity are often grouped together, their experience depends on the health conditions they have, their ethnicity, where they live and their level of income. People with multimorbidity who are working age might have different problems such as getting time off work for appointments, managing their health conditions as work, or juggling childcare. This study will focus on people who are under the age of 65, as not much research has focused on them. A recent report by a charity for people with multimorbidity said that not much research has been done on how it feels for people to live with multimorbidity. Also, we do not know the best way to support and treat people with multimorbidity in GP services. If we understand people’s experiences, we might be able to design better services to meet their needs. There are some questionnaires that could be used to find people who be finding it difficult to cope with their multimorbidity burden, but they need more testing in the UK, particularly in younger people. Some questionnaires are too long, and it would be helpful to have a short version (e.g. just one question). This could be used regularly, as a quick way to identify people who might be ‘overburdened’ and need more support. We want to find out how health care services can support people with multimorbidity and reduce their treatment burden. We will do this in three ways: 1) interviewing people with multimorbidity, 2) ask people to complete questionnaires and 3) hold a meeting with people with multimorbidity, GPs and people who organise GP services, to talk about what we have found and work together to make recommendations to improve care. Throughout the study, we will work with the staff and patients at the GP surgeries involved to increase the number of people who take part. We will make efforts to reach and include people from minority ethnic groups and those who have difficulties in accessing health care. We will work with local community groups to raise awareness about this study and translate study materials into different languages. People with multimorbidity who take part in each part of the study will receive a voucher to thank them for taking part. In the first part of the study, we will ask GPs to find people with multimorbidity at their practice. We will invite some of those people to be interviewed, for up to 1 hour, either by phone, video or face to face. During the interview we will find out about their experience of living with multimorbidity, efforts they have to put into managing their health and treatment burden, and ways in which using health care services help or make it more difficult. We will use what we find in this study to help design the questionnaire that we will use in the second part of the study. In the second part of the study, we will ask GPs to invite randomly selected people from their practice. People who agree to take part will fill in questionnaires and give us permission to look at their medical notes. The questionnaires will ask about their experiences of care, how multimorbidity affects them, including the burden because of their health conditions or from managing them. As part of this we will test how well a short measure, based on a very small number of questions or even a single question, works in identifying overburdened people. In the third part of the study, we will hold a meeting with patients, people who organise healthcare services, and commissioners and healthcare professionals. During this meeting we will make sense of the results from interviews and questionnaires to identify how health services can support people with multimorbidity We will work together with people with multimorbidity or those with experience of caring for people with multimorbidity. The idea for this study came from a PPI group focused on multimorbidity research projects, with which both RJ and SC have been involved in for the past two years. We have set up a patient and public involvement (PPI) group including six people (two from minority ethnic groups). This group will be involved throughout the study from developing study materials to developing materials for sharing study findings.

00ac00f7-6a45-413d-9354-92f1eb973632 Testing the effects of food product placement on customers’ visual attention and intended product purchases: a randomised trial in a virtual supermarket setting (Phase II) Principal Investigators: Janis Baird and Christina Vogel, Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology and Principal Research Fellow in Public Health Nutrition respectively, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton Team: Dr Sarah Muir, Senior Research Fellow, University of Southampton Dr Sarah Crozier, Senior Statistician, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton Dr Hayward Godwin, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Southampton Professor Marcus Munafo and Dr Olivia Maynard, Bristol University Ravita Taheem, Southampton City Council, Sure Start Children’s Centres Started: 1st March 2022 Ends: 30th September 2024 Background Poor diet is linked to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Most adults in England consume too much salt, saturated fat and free sugar, and do not eat the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables. People with lower education and income levels are more likely to have poor diet and to experience health problems as a result. Women of childbearing age are primarily responsible for domestic food tasks such as shopping and cooking, and their diets are closely linked to those of their children. Most families buy their food from supermarkets and their food choices can be influenced by placement of items in-store and by promotions. Our research This project follows on from COMPLETED: Testing the effects of food product placement on customers’ visual attention and intended product purchases: a randomised trial in a virtual supermarket setting (Phase I) We want to find out how the placement and packaging of healthy and unhealthy foods influence the foods that women choose to buy. We will do this by creating a ‘virtual’ supermarket layout that participants will interact with on a computer screen. We will recruit women attending Sure Start Children’s Centres in Hampshire and those whose children attend early years settings. Hampshire is a county within the Wessex region with some relatively deprived areas. We will choose centres and early years settings located in areas of higher deprivation. Local data suggests that 70% of families with young children are engaged with the centres. Women using the virtual supermarket will be shown images of healthy and unhealthy foods and non-food items that are placed in noticeable locations in the supermarket like checkouts. We will measure the specific aspects of the images women look at using experimental techniques such as eye tracking, which records their gaze point and gaze duration. The eye tracker is positioned close to the computer screen allowing it to record where women look. We will then ask women to tell us the products that they saw for sale, the name of the products they considered purchasing, and aspects of the supermarket that took their interest, and why. Our findings will tell us how people respond to the placement and packaging of different types of food products and whether these reponses differ if families are poorer or more wealthy. These findings help us to design ways to layout supermarkets to help all families eat more healthy foods. Our research will begin in March 2022 and end in late 2022. We will share the findings from our study with local families attending Sure Start Children’s Centres and early years settings. We will inform local and national government employees about our findings which could help to refine current government policies to address childhood obesity. The Study • 68 mothers took part in an eye-tracking study at the University of Southampton. •The women viewed scenes from a virtual supermarket which showed healthy, unhealthy and non-food products. •Scenes focused on the areas in a store where most shoppers usually pass through including the store entrance, end-of-aisles and checkouts. •Eye tracking software captured their eye movements to measure their attention. Participants were also asked to click on items on the screen that they wanted to purchase. •Twelve women also took part in interviews. mothers took part in an eye-tracking study at the University of Southampton. What did we learn? •We compared women’s attention to healthy, unhealthy and non-food items by showing them images of products side by side. Women showed higher levels of attention to healthy products over unhealthy and non-food items. Healthy products were viewed for 0.10 more seconds than unhealthy products and 0.15 more seconds than non-food items. The eye-tracking study also showed that the women had higher intention to purchase healthy foods over unhealthy and non-food items. Interviews with the women showed they used strategies like shopping lists and avoiding aisle ends to avoid unhealthy purchases. They wanted more healthy snacks or products they might have forgotten (such as paracetamol or batteries) at checkouts. What difference can this new Knowledge make? Supermarkets usually place unhealthy foods in noticeable places to make profits. Replacing these unhealthy foods with healthy or non-food items will just as likely, if not more successfully, lead to purchases. This can help families lead healthier lives. Why is this important for patients, health and care providers and policy makers? Placing unhealthy foods in noticeable locations can lead to impulse purchases of foods that can lead to obesity. Our study shows that women do not intend to buy these foods and would prefer healthier alternatives. Since 2022, UK policy has banned the placement of some unhealthy foods at noticeable locations in supermarkets. This research provides evidence that customers are likely to support this policy as they would like to buy healthy and non-food items from these locations. What Next? We are creating an infographic to share our findings with families via Sure Start Children’s Centres, Facebook and local schools. These results support our ongoing evaluation of the Food (Promotion and Placement) Regulations. Data will be shared in ongoing conversations with local authorities and via an academic publication. We have received funding to expand our study from mothers to young people. Adolescence is a time when young people may start to make independent food purchases. We aim to further understand what environmental factors influence young people’s purchases on their journey to and from school.

f5788d42-1d65-4ac1-a9d5-00a8fcb316fd Improving support for self-management (WASP) Using the Wessex Activation and Self-Management and Personalisation (WASP) Tool to design and implement system wide improvements in self-management support for people with long-term conditions See the WASP website https://www.wasp.soton.ac.uk/ Principal Investigator: Professor Mari-Carmen Portillo Team members: Professor Mari-Carmen Portillo (Professor of Long-Term Conditions, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Dr Hayden Kirk (Consultant Physiotherapist & Clinical Director Adults Southampton, Solent NHS Trust), Dr Chris Allen (Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Stephanie Heath (WASP Clinical Lead, Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), Dr David Culliford (Senior Medical Statistician, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton), Dr Louise Johnson (WASP Project Manager, Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), Dr David Kryl (Director, Centre for Implementation Science, University of Southampton), Professor Alison Richardson (Professor of Cancer Nursing and End of Life Care, University of Southampton) Start: 1 October 2019 Ends: 30 September 2024 Project Partners: Solent NHS Trust, Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS Summary Good health and health care are key to a flourishing society. Focussing on what matters most to patients is essential for accessible, equitable and efficient care. In an NHS that is facing many challenges - including an increasing prevalence of multimorbidity and high levels of workforce burnout - this is easier said than done. The Wessex Academy for Skills in Personalised Care (WASP) has developed a programme to facilitate adoption of personalised care in practice. Led by the University of Southampton in partnership with NHS organisations across the Southeast, this programme supports health and social care services to embed personalised care practices – through rigorous evaluation, training, and bespoke improvement initiatives. Research is underway to evaluate the impact of the programme, and to understand how it could be spread and scaled. If adopted nationally, this programme has potential to be the catalyst for changing how we deliver and sustain services across the NHS. Impact People with multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) represent a significant proportion of the primary care population; with an estimated 14 million in England living with two or more chronic conditions. Many experience high treatment burden, fragmented care and reduced quality of life. While national policy promotes personalised care, implementation at scale has proved challenging. Services often lack the tools, skills and system support needed to embed personalised approaches into everyday practice. Difficulties in defining and measuring personalised care, add further challenge. The Wessex Academy for Skills in Personalised Care (WASP) was established to address this gap. Funded and commissioned by Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Dorset Integrated Care Boards (>£710K), WASP has developed an evaluation and training approach, focused on cultural and system-level change rather than isolated interventions. Led by the University of Southampton and working in close partnership with NHS organisations, WASP supports health and social care services to embed personalised care in a sustainable way. Training is accredited by the Personalised Care Institute and WASP is a partner with the Coalition for Personalised Care. Being hosted within NIHR ARC Wessex has enabled WASP to bring together research expertise, service improvement skills and frontline clinical experience. This collaboration underpins a structured programme built around three core elements: evaluating current practice, building skills through accredited training, and supporting services to make sustained improvements. A co-produced service evaluation tool enables teams to reflect on how personalised care is experienced by staff, service users and the wider system; enabling understanding of not just what happens in practice, but why. Training builds staff confidence and capability, while improvement support helps translate learning into measurable change. This work has had broad impact. To date, 45 clinical services across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset and Sussex have completed the WASP programme. Over 1,400 healthcare staff have taken part in training, and more than 2,000 people, including clinicians, managers, commissioners and service users, have engaged with the service evaluation. Teams report shifts in mindset, with greater focus on “what matters” to individuals and increased confidence in delivering flexible, responsive care. People using services benefit from care that better reflects their priorities and circumstances, while staff gain shared language, clearer frameworks and practical tools. Commissioners and system leaders benefit from robust evidence to guide investment and improvement. WASP has also influenced practice beyond participating services, contributing to NHS England South East guidance; providing regional leadership on Patient Activation Measure use for NHS England; and contributing to ICB values-based care steering boards. NIHR ARC Wessex has been critical in enabling this impact by supporting programme development, evaluation and dissemination. ARC infrastructure has provided methodological and statistical expertise, mentorship, impact capture guidance and communications support, enhancing credibility and enabling scale-up. Through ARC Wessex, WASP accessed expertise across the University of Southampton, including business intelligence and the Business School, securing two development grants in 2023: the Southampton Enterprise Development Fund (£8,550) and Higher Education Innovation Fund (£10,000). Engagement has also taken place through WASP conferences in 2023 and 2024, with over 100 delegates including clinicians, commissioners and national policy stakeholders. The team is now collaborating with colleagues from UCL, Bristol, Leeds and Exeter to develop a programme grant focused on a scalable and sustainable personalised care intervention. This partnership demonstrates how NIHR investment can translate evidence into meaningful improvements for people living with long-term conditions. “It was good that we were able to focus on how shared decision making can work for continuing healthcare joint working on assessing challenges and positives- in a structured way. The idea of the need was there, and it helped to provide the framework to address the need ” [Programme Participant] https://www.wasp.soton.ac.uk/ We have now held 3 regional conferences, with attendance from 100+ delegates and a range of regional and national speakers – photos can be found on the conference page of our website. https://www.linkedin.com/company/wessex-academy-for-skills-in-personalised-care A scoping review followed this project to provide the rationale for the WASP assessment tool of personalised care practices – this has now been published: Johnson et al (2025) Next? WASP II is now evaluating and collecting evidence of the impact of the Wessex Academy for Personalised Care programme. We are conducting a secondary data analysis on existing WASP survey data, to better understand the behavioral factors impacting personalised care practices. We are seeking for further NHS teams to complete the training beyond Wessex. We are planning an NIHR PGfAR Submission in April 2026 – focussing on sustainable and scalable development and national evaluation of the programme. We are collaborating with UCL, Bristol, Leeds and Exeter, as well as the Personalised Care Institute. Now there's a series of FREE webinars to develop skills supporting personalised care, for health and care professionals in the Isle of Wight, Hampshire. More here

1ab7e5e6-86e2-4f8e-a9c6-1bc46e56207d ADOPTED: Personalised social and self-management support for better living with multiple long-term conditions in the community (CO-ACTION) Chief Investigators : Dr Dorit Kunkell, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton and Professor Mari Carmen Portillo, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton. Team: Dr Hannah Wheat, Professor Victoria Allgar and Professor Richard Byng from the University of Plymouth. Miss Francesca White, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB). Dr Tom Blakeman and Professor Peter Bower from the University of Manchester. Professor Daniel Prieto-Alhambra, Associate Professor Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva, Dr Annika Jödicke and Miss Maria T Sanchez-Santos from the University of Oxford. Dr Lindsey Cherry and Dr Kate Lippiett from the University of Southampton. Mr Eric Compton, Patient and Public Contributor, Southampton. Start: 1 June 2024 End: 30 November 2028 The CO-ACTION programme aims to improve wellbeing for people with multiple health problems. Living with Multiple Long-Term Conditions often called ‘Multimorbidity’ (MLTC-M) involves multiple appointments and care plans. Patient priorities are often overlooked. Common issues include pain, mobility problems and fewer interactions with friends and family. This can lead to loneliness and poorer mental health. The research team will work with fellow researchers, health, social care and VCSE sector workers to co-design and test a health and wellbeing intervention with and for people living with MLTC-M . To evaluate the CO-ACTION intervention: We will run a trial involving 500 people living with MLTC-M and carers. Half will receive the intervention. The other half will continue with usual care. We will recruit participants (with Patient and Public Involvement support) in health and community settings in Manchester, Leeds, Plymouth, and Southampton. Wellbeing, quality of life, unplanned hospital admissions, and costs will be assessed at the beginning, 6 and 12 months later. Researchers will test how this intervention can be adopted in the NHS in six case study sites. Public and patient (PPIE) contributors will help us design materials, consider challenges and provide feedback on findings.

a3233a2e-82c9-4634-a984-44c5ddb93cad ADOPTED PROJECT: MELD Developing a Multidisciplinary Ecosystem to study Lifecourse Determinants of Complex Mid-life Multimorbidity using Artificial Intelligence (MELD) Chief Investigator: Dr Simon Fraser – University of Southampton Project Team Members: Dr Nisreen Alwan – Associate Professor in Public Health, School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton, Professor Michael Boniface – Director of the University of Southampton IT Innovation Centre and Web Science Institute, Professor Ben MacArthur – Mathematical Sciences University of Southampton, Professor Rebecca Hoyle – Mathematical Sciences University of Southampton, Dr Sarah Crozier – Associate Professor of Statistical Epidemiology, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Mr William Ware – Patient and Public Involvement Contributor, Mr James McMahon – Patient and Public Involvement Contributor, Dr Emilia Holland – Public Health Specialty Registrar, School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Dr Zlatko Zlatev – Senior Enterprise Fellow, Electronics & Computer Science, University of Southampton Background: As with many countries we are facing challenges related to the growing number of people living with multiple long-term health conditions like diabetes, heart disease or dementia. All the way through peoples’ lives many things influence the chances of developing such conditions. This includes some things that are hard to research - broader issues throughout life such as the environment people grew up in, their education, work, and so on. Sadly, people from more socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to develop multiple conditions at an earlier age. There is also evidence that the order of developing conditions varies considerably and influences what then happens to people. This makes understanding these broader issues and how they affect that order vital to inform when and how we should intervene to prevent conditions developing. To achieve this, we need to study large numbers of people over their whole lifetime, but such datasets do not exist. Very large health datasets collected from NHS GPs are helpful but haven’t been running long enough to track from birth to later life. They include lots of information on long term conditions but not much about broader issues. In our Development Award (called ‘MELD’) we had access to one such dataset of about 700,000 people, which we used to identify health conditions. We also accessed data from the ‘1970 British Cohort Study’ – a long-running research study called a ‘birth cohort’ Publication: Early-onset burdensome multimorbidity: an exploratory analysis of sentinel conditions, condition accrual sequence and duration of three long-term conditions using the 1970 British Cohort Study https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/10/e059587.full

db1daab2-c480-4960-beba-7955afeebc20 Wessex Frail2Fit – A feasibility and acceptability study of a virtual multi-modal intervention delivered by volunteers to improve functional outcomes of older adults with COVID-19 discharged from hospital Lay project title: Can we train volunteers to deliver exercise and nutrition support to older adults with frailty after a hospital stay? Project Partners: University of Southampton; University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust; Bournemouth University; Swansea University Principal Investigator: Dr Stephen Lim Team members: Dr Stephen Lim ( NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine, Academic Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton), Dr Samantha Meredith ( Research Fellow, Academic Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton ), Professor Mike Grocott ( Professor of Anaesthesia & Critical Care, Clinical and Experimental Science, University of Southampton), Professor Sandy Jack (Consultant Clinical Scientist in Anaesthesia and Critical Care, University Hospital Southampton NHS FT), Professor Jane Murphy (Professor of Nutrition, Ageing and Dementia Research Centre, Bournemouth University), Dr Judit Varkonyi-Sepp (Chartered Psychologist, Manager Behavioural Science Theme, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton), Andrew Bates (Clinical Academic Intensive Care Nurse and Critical Care, Clinical and Experimental Science, University of Southampton), Luisa Holt (Physiotherapist, Research Fellow, University of Southampton), Professor Kelly Mackintosh (Professor in Sport and Exercise Sciences, Swansea University), Professor Melitta McNarry (Professor in Sport and Exercise Sciences, Swansea University), Cynthia Russell (patient representative), Steph Keith (Volunteer services - Patient Support Hub Coordinator), Kieran Fifield (Volunteer services - Project Support Officer) Start: 31/10/2022 Ended: 10/01/2024 Lay Summary Around half of older people over the age of 65 in hospital are affected by frailty. Frailty is a long-term health condition where your body loses its natural reserves. People with frailty take longer to bounce back from simple things, like a common cold, they tire easily, and need a bit more help to do things. Exercise and good nutrition are important to build strength in older people with frailty and can help them to perform their normal daily activities, like dressing, or cooking a meal. However, the motivation to eat well and to move more after a hospital stay can be hard for many older adults living with frailty. We found that we could train volunteers to encourage older people with frailty to eat well and exercise after a hospital stay. Hospital volunteers were trained by a health professional to deliver 3-month support to older people online through Zoom, or over the telephone. Five hospital volunteers completed the training. The volunteers were college students (3 female) with an average age of 16 years and were interested in gaining experiences working in a health setting. The exercises were seated strength movements using resistance bands. Volunteers were also taught to use the ‘nutrition wheel’ which is a tool to help start conversations with older people about their eating and whether they had lost any weight. Older people who were identified as at risk of undernutrition (not getting enough nutrients to support their health) were given booklets containing suitable nutrition advice. Twenty-seven older people with frailty signed up to receive support from the volunteers, and seventeen completed the 3-month programme. Eight older people completed the intervention online, and 9 opted for telephone support. The volunteers delivered 45 online sessions and 90 telephone calls from January 2023 to October 2023. After the programme we found that older peoples’ physical activity levels, quality of life, and appetite improved, and they maintained these improvements at 3-month follow-up. Only 1 minor incident happened during exercise where an older person strained their shoulder muscle using the resistance band. We interviewed volunteers, older adults, and their carers to find out more about what they thought of the exercise and nutrition support. Participants completing the online sessions enjoyed the group interactions and described the sessions like ‘a virtual cuddle’. They appreciated the support of the younger volunteers, who helped motivate and guide their exercise and nutrition behaviours. Participants receiving support through weekly telephone calls felt the volunteers were very encouraging and provided non-judgmental support. Overall, participants thought the online sessions helped build a better exercise routine, but the one-to-one telephone calls allowed more in-depth, personal conversations around nutrition. The young volunteers found listening to some of the illness stories of older people leaving hospital quite emotionally difficult. But they found the experience changed their perceptions on ageing. The volunteers had support from the trainer to help with any challenging conversations. Some older people found a key barrier to participating in the programme was their unmet care needs. Older people with better social care had resources to focus on their health, whereas older people who were alone and unsupported were more focussed on meeting their basic care needs rather than participating in the support programme. Overall, it was safe and feasible for volunteers to deliver exercise and nutrition support to older people living with frailty after a hospital stay. What we did with the new knowledge Our findings are helping to develop a volunteer toolkit, including recruitment packages, and training and support materials for future volunteer-led projects in hospital and in the community. Where next? We are working with various Universities and community organisations to develop a volunteer-led intervention to improve health and wellbeing of older people in different regions and for older people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. What did people say about the work? Volunteer: “It (training) was very thorough, and I knew what I had to do when I first started. Especially at the beginning, when I was invited to join one of the zoom sessions, to see the volunteer delivering the exercises. And also, the nutrition support; that was really helpful to understand how everything worked. Not only how it was meant to, but how someone delivered it. I thought the training was amazing, and I felt comfortable with what I was doing when I first started.” Participant receiving telephone support: “ What was very good was they (volunteers) didn’t push it too much. When I said I exercise 3 times a week, they didn’t push that and say, ‘oh, you should be doing this; you should be doing that’ - they didn’t push anything… They just encouraged you, which was good…. They were polite, finding out what I’d been doing, and what I hadn’t been doing I s’pose but not criticising me for not doing it… They’re concerned about you, getting people back to normal, aint they?” Participant receiving online support: “ I enjoyed doing the one online. It was interesting talking to people to see what other people were feeling and how they were all doing…. You sort of get that feeling that you’re part of something… it was fun. Strangely enough, I would find myself looking forward to the next one…” Participant receiving online support: “ Full of enthusiasm.. They (volunteers) weren’t just telling you what to do, they were rooting for you too, ‘come on, we can do this!” Publications Frail2Fit study protocol: a feasibility and acceptability study of a virtual multimodal intervention delivered by volunteers to improve functional outcomes in older adults with frailty after discharge from hospital | BMJ Open

0962122f-1175-4112-bec9-7327da6e0e5a Work lives and Wellbeing of Mental Health Nursing Workforce Lead applicant: Prof Jane Ball Co-applicants: Dr Gemma Simons, Prof David Baldwin, Prof Peter Griffiths, Dr Catherine Smith, Dr Emma Wadey Project Summary: Read a long project summary Read a short project summary We have a growing demand for mental health care and nurses are key to meting this demand. Each year roughly 10,000 NHS staff in England leave mental health services. 22% of nursing posts in mental health are vacant. Across the NHS it is recognised that work pressures impact on staff wellbeing, their ability to deliver care well, and likelihood of staff staying in the NHS. Despite being a priority area, most research related to nurses’ work engagement, retention and positive staff outcomes focuses on staff in general acute hospitals. Very little attention has been paid to mental health nurses’ work lives and wellbeing. Where will the research take place and who will it in involve This study focusses on mental health nurses. It will take place in Wessex but also includes desk research to collate workforce data, and a national survey of nurses in a range of mental health settings (community, hospitals, specialist units). The project will be led by the mental health workforce team at Southampton, in collaboration with the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Staff Support Hub, and the national lead for mental health nursing. An advisory group and patient public group will support the research. Aim & Design The aim is to examine the work lives and wellbeing of mental health nurses, in order to improve wellbeing and retention of these staff. This study will map what is known about the mental health nursing workforce, identify modifiable workplace factors that impact on staff experience, wellbeing and outcomes, and work collaboratively to identify solutions. The companion project will identify metrics that we can use to assess the wellbeing of the mental health workforce. Methods Labour market and workforce review - analyse data on the mental health nursing workforce, to create an overview. Survey nurses working in mental health (in Wessex NHS Trusts and a national sample). The questionnaire includes measures of: burnout, job satisfaction, intention to leave, workloads and practice environment. We will include open-ended questions so staff can give their views of work-life challenges, how they impact on their health, and what helps. The RCN Mental Health Forum will be main gateway for the national survey. Interview and focus groups with mental health nurses in Wessex NHS Trusts to explore experiences and views of working in mental health and issues related to wellbeing. These will be both before and after the survey (to help with survey design, and afterwards, to enrich interpretation). Coproduction workshop . Preliminary findings will be shared with a wide range of people with vested interest in, or responsibility for, the mental health workforce (e.g. nurses, managers, workforce leads) at a Wessex based co-production workshop, to identify actions and next steps. How will the findings inform improvements in population health and patient care? Services will run better and care quality will be improved if the workforce is healthy, happy and there are enough staff to provide care to the expected standards. Publications doi:10.12968/bjmh.2023.0037

22c6bc93-4002-4a39-ba1e-6b7c981fbe5f A qualitative case study to understand Young people’s food purchasing patterns in CONvenience stores in the school neighbourhood environment (Y-CON) Chief Investigators: Janis Baird and Christina Vogel, Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology and Adjunct Professor of Food Policy, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton Team: Dr Sarah Muir, Senior Research Fellow, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton Dr Kath Woods-Townsend, Principal Research Fellow, School of Healthcare, Enterprise and Innovation Dr Sarah Crozier, Senior Statistician, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton Dr Hayward Godwin, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Southampton Professor Marcus Munafo and Dr Olivia Maynard, Bristol University Ravita Taheem, Southampton City Council, lead on childhood obesity Partners: Bristol University, University of Southampton, Southampton City Council Start: 1 October 2024 End: 31 March 2026 Background A poor diet significantly contributes to illnesses including heart disease, diabetes and stroke. One in three children who leave primary school have obesity or overweight, raising concerns about their future health. The teenage years are crucial because this is when young people start making their own food choices, setting the stage for their lifelong eating habits. The Problem The journey to and from school often involves passing by convenience stores which rely on shoppers, such as young people, to impulse-buy products that are high in fat, salt and sugar. The presence of these stores in school neighbourhoods may be linked to the high rates of childhood obesity. Our Research Focus We used a qualitative approach to understand convenience stores near schools influence the buying patterns of young people making their own dietary decisions. Study Design Our research ran between October 2024 and March 2026. Forty-three students from two secondary schools in Hampshire took part in focus groups about how they used convenience stores near their school. Young people from the LifeLab NxtGen programme were also employed as citizen scientists: they took part in a ‘mystery shopper’ task to purchase a healthy product near the stores and reported on their experience. NxtGen researchers also worked with the team to support the analysis of findings and development of dissemination materials. Engagement and Dissemination The team, including members of the NxtGen research group, have developed an infographic detailing core recommendations for independent stores in the UK to help improve young people’s access to healthier food. Plans are underway to share this infographic with our young participants, as well as policy makers and retail groups. Internationally, our research will also be presented in scientific journals and at conferences.