Mental Health Leaders Award

Theme Lead

Professor Joy Duxbury and Professor Michelle Baybutt

 

Brief Description

The Mental Health Leaders Award (MHLA) is a £2.5 million project running until Autumn 2028, which underscores our ambition and commitment to undertaking applied mental health research with and for the diverse communities of Cumbria. Funded by the NIHR as part of a wider mental health research initiative, the MHLA is designed to support higher education institutions to build their capacity and ability for targeted and applied mental health research through public partnerships and research inclusive activities within their local communities.  

The University of Cumbria’s MHLA focuses on mental health and inequalities across the county. Cumbria’s unique geography, spanning coastal, remote, rural and urban communities, as well as the Lake District National Park, creates a complex landscape of both need and access to local mental health services. The county experiences high levels of poverty, suicide, self-harm, and feelings of hopelessness amongst young people, which cut across this geographical complexity. Despite this, the needs and challenges of these diverse communities are poorly understood. Through the MHLA we will support the development of, and build capacity for mental health research at the University of Cumbria that will make a practical difference to the lives of those providing, needing or receiving services in Cumbria.

The MHLA is be supported by colleagues at Newcastle University, Oxford University and Imperial College London, alongside Pennine Care Young people’s Mental Health Research Centre, as well as a wider network of experts and community partners. The MHLA will:

(1) work with communities and individuals with lived experience to better understand specific challenges and co-develop priority areas for future research; and

(2) build the University’s capacity for applied mental health research by funding a core MHLA team, providing mentorship and CPD programmes, strengthening partnerships, and creating funding and career development opportunities.

The award will initially focus on four key, broad areas:

• Mental health and neurodiversity;
• Mental health crisis in the community;
• Place-based green and blue space and mental health;
• The needs of children, young people and families

Contact 

To get involved or to find out more about the project, contact Jo Hickman Dunne: j.hickmandunne@cumbria.ac.uk