Health trust wins two research grants

A health trust that serves Brighton and Hove has been awarded two contracts to carry out mental health research.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will receive almost £400,000 in research grants from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

One of the grants is for a three-year study with funding of £207,000 to find ways to engage young people who are being treated for psychosis.

The aim is to work more effectively with them and at an early stage in the development of their mental illness.

The study will use previously successful research methods in psychosis to try to find out what motivates people to engage or disengage with those trying to help them.

The research will look at ways to address their needs and improve engagement.

The other grant is for a two-year study into a psychological intervention known as mindfulness meditation.

The study is worth £183,000 and will investigate whether the therapy can be used to help people with schizophrenia who suffer from the phenomenon known as hearing voices.

It will recruit 144 people using mental health services in Sussex and Hampshire in a randomised controlled trial.

Dr Mark Hayward, director of research at Sussex Partnership, said: “We are really honoured to have been selected by NIHR and are grateful to the people using our services who have helped to develop these studies.

“The involvement of service users in research ensures that our clinical research outcomes are even more pertinent locally.

“Both research contracts endorse Sussex Partnership’s reputation as a leading centre of mental health research in the southern England.

“Not only will these studies enhance our understanding of what causes mental illness and how it can be treated, they will also ensure that the clinical services of Sussex Partnership are at the cutting edge of innovation.”