The emotional and psychological impact of living with diabetes can be overwhelming, and research has shown that people living with diabetes are more likely to experience mental health issues including depression and anxiety.

This project is looking to understand the experiences of people living with diabetes, how this affects mental health, as well as how mental health issues can impact on the ability to manage diabetes.

Interested participants will be able to choose from one of the following sessions:

• Tuesday 28 February, 3pm to 4pm
• Tuesday 28 February, 6.30pm to 7.30pm
• Tuesday 7 March, 3pm to 4pm

Sessions will be recorded, only for the purposes of this research.

Feedback will be used as part of a funding application for further research into ways to combine diabetes and mental health care.

It is being carried out by a team of researchers at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust.

People with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often suffer from several symptoms at once, such as pain, itching and feeling extremely tired.

This project is looking to understand people’s opinions of using an electronic symptom management plan that helps people with CKD better manage their symptoms. Focus group discussion will also explore how certain groups of people might be effected and to identify any barriers to using the system.

It is being led by a team of researchers at The University of Manchester and is funded by Kidney Care UK.

This project will establish a PPI (patient and public involvement) advisory panel to a three-year research study examining how adult community health services influence and affect use of hospital-based services.

It is being led by a team of researchers at The University of Manchester. Results of the study will be used to help inform community services for the future.

This project will establish a steering group to advise on a plan to commission a new mobile research unit to expand research capacity and delivery across the northwest coast region.

The input of group members will have a real impact on defining the specification and function of the mobile research unit.

It is being carried out by the NIHR Clinical Research Network North West Coast.

This project will establish a PPI (patient and public involvement) group to advise on all stages of mesothelioma research.

It is being led by a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow School of Cancer Services, and is part of the PREDICT-Meso network.  The network is funded by Cancer Research UK and hopes to better understand how mesothelioma develops from its early stages and translate this into more effective diagnosis an treatments

This project will establish an advisory group for a research study that will develop and test the use of artificial intelligence to transform the diagnosis of lung cancer and other thoracic diseases.

The input of group members will make a real difference to the management of this study and ensure that the right information is shared with participants in the best possible way.

It is being led by a team of researchers based at the University of Oxford.

The PARITY study aims to improve prehabilitation (prehab) before cancer surgery and is looking to understand people’s preferences for prehabiltation* services.

*Prehabiltation is the name given to efforts to improve health before a major healthcare event such as surgery, to improve patient outcomes.  It can include increasing exercise, changes to diet, and other lifestyle changes that can improve and enhance the recovery process.

PARITY is being led by a team of researchers based at Lancaster University.

Further Reading

• Wareing, L., Hirst, Y., Shelton, C., Gaffney, C., Partridge, A., Rycroft-Malone, J., Smith, A. and Ashmore, L. (2024). Identifying quality and inequality in prehabilitation services before cancer surgery: a Delphi study informed by lived and professional experience. [online] www.researchsquare.com.  [Accessed 20 Feb. 2024].

This project is looking to capture people’s experiences of knee replacement surgery to inform the development of a new software system that can improve management and patient outcomes.

The research team based at The University of Manchester are looking to capture:

• experiences before, during and after knee replacement surgery
• views on using computer technologies to manage health conditions
• ideas on how to improve the patient journey, before and after surgery.

Feedback from these sessions will be used to inform future research

This project is looking to understand the views and perspectives on sharing and using personal health data during and beyond COVID-19.

It is being led by a team of researchers from The University of Manchester alongside other organisations including Groundswell and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM).

By establishing a volunteer peer educator scheme, this project is hoping to increase research engagement and involvement from ethnic minority and other under-served populations.

• Previous research has highlighted that certain communities are underrepresented in kidney-related research and that people from those communities are significantly more likely to progress to end-stage kidney disease.
• Target communities for this project include:
  • socially deprived people of any ethnicity living in Salford
  • Pakistani communities in Oldham
  • Bengali communities in Rochdale.

This project is a collaboration between Kidney Research UK, Research for the Future, and the renal department at Salford Care Organisation (part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust)

This project is investigating the use of 3D body scanning and 3D printing techniques to develop perfectly fitting breast prostheses.

3D scanning allows researchers to build a virtual 3D model of the area captured.  The model can then be used to create perfectly fitting 3D breast forms that replicate either the shape of the remaining breast or the desired bust shape.

Results from this project will help to design and develop prototypes of 3D breast forms, which will offer an alternative to a traditional external breast prosthesis.

It is being carried out by KUPPD in collaboration with researchers at the Manchester Fashion Institute (part of Manchester Metropolitan University) and partly funded by Health Innovation Manchester.

This project will bring together people living with chronic cough, healthcare professionals and researchers.  It will look at ways to raise the profile of chronic cough and explore ways to improve support for people living with the condition.

It is being led by the VOCAL team, based at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.