ARC West Midlands Director, Prof Richard Lilford, has produced a series of 5 blog articles, which reflect on over 13 years of experience. These articles include an overview; the role of ARCs in research and in implementation; how ARCs can deliver on their manifold objectives; the role of ARCs in service evaluation; and feedback for research commissioners.

Read the set by clicking hereLink opens in a new window.

Professor Robin Miller and Dr Caroline Jackson (Social Care theme) have been collaborating with research partners in Europe and Canada to understand how people with lived experience of health and/or social care can influence the development of integrated care. The first report from the research is now available for download: Citizen Leadership & Integrated Care ReportLink opens in a new window

Production of a video for patients with osteoarthritis, describing what it is and what patients can do to help themselves

Dr Hayley Crawford and Dr Hayley Trower from Warwick Medical School have created a series of four videos on key information about people with learning disability, suitable for healthcare professionals, parents and carers. The series is available to view on YouTube.

The contribution of NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) to the fight against COVID-19 is marked today, the third anniversary of the first UK lockdown, with the launch of a new publication: NIHR ARCs: Supporting the Fight Against COVID-19Link opens in a new window (PDF).

Prof Celia Brown, Professor of Medical Education at Warwick Medical School and part of ARC WM Research Methodology theme, has recently published a book for children, Vi and Vincent the Jibber Jabbers, explaining how vaccines work, and how they keep many people safe and healthy. It is available from 3 March 2023. Further information is available at: https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/vi-and-vincent-jibber-jabbersLink opens in a new window.

Dr Abimbola Ayorinde, Assistant Professor in our Public Health Theme at Warwick Medical School, recently made headlines for her work on ethnic health inequalities in maternal and neonatal health.

The NHS Race and Health Observatory reportLink opens in a new window describes how few maternal policies have been developed by hospital trusts to address ethnic health inequalities across maternity care. Authors identified a lack of a national, central focus; a lack of diversity in research; and a lack of national commitment, which all contribute to this issue. Dr Ayorinde, said: “Ethnic inequalities in maternal and neonatal health is a very important issue. It was disappointing that in over 40 years of published evidence we only found 19 interventions aimed broadly at tackling ethnic inequalities. This suggests paucity of robust evidence as well as lack of clear records of interventions in this area. The report highlights recommendations for various stakeholder groups and we hope that each party would play their part to ensure we achieve the much-needed improvement going forward.”

This work was commissioned in partnership the University of Liverpool.

More information is also available at the RHO press release: http://nhsrho.org/news/new-research-identifies-gaps-in-ethnicity-research-in-maternal-care/Link opens in a new window

This report was also covered in the News section of the BMJ (http://bmj.com/content/379/bmj.o2964Link opens in a new window).

In addition, an explainer video of the key findings can be accessed at: https://youtu.be/FPkdEnObgZsLink opens in a new window.

Further, ARC WM is now involved in further work specifically focussing on identifying interventions to improve communication with ethnic minority pregnant peopleLink opens in a new window. There are language and communication barriers in maternity care that affect inequalities in health and we aim to identify what has been done to address these. The work is being conducted with London School of Economics and funded by NHS Race and Health Observatory.

The latest Annual Report, covering work carried out in 2021/22 (year three), has now been published by the Margaret Peters Centre. It details a number of projects that have been completed, along with ongoing projects. It is available to view at: https://arc-wm.nihr.ac.uk/mpc/annual-reports.

The NIHR have released a short video explaining their research infrastructure at: https://youtu.be/3h0OW8wusBELink opens in a new window.

Our Social Care theme, in partnership with BASW (the professional association for social work and social workers), have published a report on leadership and social work in the UK. It is now available to downloadLink opens in a new window.