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About Research and Innovation at DCHS

Our vision is to increase capacity, capability and participation in research and innovation as we embed a culture of continuous improvement across the organisation

  • We identify and set up research studies for DCHS to participate in.
  • We offer expertise, advice and guidance to enable staff to achieve their research goals.
  • We signpost to training and resources.
  • We integrate research into clinical services.
  • We support patients and protect safety during clinical trials, collect accurate data to develop evidence based practice.

The Research Team works collaboratively with commissioners, funders, research practitioners and patients to initiate, develop and promote high quality research and innovation at local and national levels. 

We would love to hear from anyone that is interested in research.

Click here to view the team members

Email us - E: research.enquiries@nhs.net
or call us on T: 01246 515670.

Take a look at DCHS's Research Strategy which set out the Trust's strategic plan for doing and participating in research and innovation over the next few years.

Take a look at our infographics by clicking here, it gives an overview of what we can offer.

Meet our Research Champions:

Our Champions have dedicated time for research and are really enthusiastic to encourage and provide support to anyone that is interested in research.  The Champions are now hosting face to face and MS Team forums which everyone can attend.  If you're interested in learning more please email research.enquiries@nhs.net. Upcoming forum Dates are:

  • Critical Appraisal session with our library colleagues - Wednesday 9th October 2024, 12.00 noon to 1.00pm. (How to appraise and understand the strengths and weaknesses of peer reviewed journal articles.)

What counts as research? Could what you are thinking be service evaluation/audit?  

Click here for information to help you decide whether a project is research, audit, service evaluation or public health surveillance. If the project is evaluation and audit please contact the improvement, innovation and effectiveness team.

  • What approvals do you need? Click here for information about health research governance.
  • Need to fund your research?  Search for funding opportunities from: National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) funding;  Medical Research Council (MRC) funding; National Institute of Health Research Partners - Click here for funding organisations that meet the NIHR Partner criteria and are automatically eligible for consideration for NIHR CRN support.
  • Writing a research protocol?  Click here to access the research protocol format recommended by the World Health Organization
  • Need training in Good Clinical Practice?  Click here for information on training and courses available

Resources

Writing for publications

Looking for information on how to get published?

​Whether you need access to resources, training or a quiet place to study we can help you. Click here to access some of the Derbyshire NHS Library & Knowledge Services useful resources and links to websites, training, library books and published articles about how to write for publication.

Posters and Display Material

This YouTube video is about creating simple, eye catching and engaging research posters for presentation sessions where people are actively browsing rather than static poster displays in foyers.

Get a scientific poster template here.

How to find Free Published Research

Free Published Research
 

Millions of people take part in research each year.  People just like you help shape how care is provided, what medicines and treatments are used and to find cures and treatments for the future generations.

Every day within the UK and worldwide someone is diagnosed with a disease or condition that requires some sort of treatment.  All of these treatments would have been informed by research.

If you're interested in taking part in research outside of DCHS please visit BePartofResearch.

DCHS has identified Research and Innovation as an area of importance in delivering our Trust Strategy. 

  • Investigating MSK Health and Wellbeing - Measure and characterise the development and progression of different frailty, pain and disability phenotypes and their individual associations in a survey of adults.  
     
  • HipDyS: Evaluation of an aid to diagnosis for congenital dysplasia of the hip in general practice.
     
  • T2T - Treat to Target in Gout: What is the clinical and cost effectiveness of using a goal-directed allopurinol-based treat-to-target protocol in people with recurrent gout flares.
     
  • MIDFUT: Multi-site multi-arm multi-stage trial.  Looking into the best way to treat chronic diabetic foot ulcers.
     
  • Determining the Effectiveness of a FeNO-guided asthma management intervention in primary care: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial with nested economic and process evaluations. DEFINE-RCT - An online intervention for doctors and nurses in GP surgeries to help them use FeNO to target and adjust asthma treatments more effectively.
  • An evaluation of quality improvement collaboratives aligned to a national audit to improve the uptake of insulin pumps for people with diabetes (EQUIPD) – Quality Improvement Collaboratives aligned to a national audit to improve the uptake of insulin pumps for people with diabetes.
     
  • INcorporating VoIce acTivated communication aids into Everyday communication (INVITE) - This study aims to find out who can benefit from VIVOCAs, and what support they will need to use it successfully. This information can be used by professionals involved in providing communication aids (CAs), and will help to plan further research into VIVOCAs’ effectiveness.
     
  • Mindful Life-Well at Work - Comparison of two mindfulness/wellbeing activities similar to CBT.  Aimed at NHS staff. Self referral. Click here for more details.
     
  • Empowering Better End of Life Dementia Care (EMBED-Care) - The six interconnected projects will lead to the development and testing of an intervention, which people with dementia, informal carers and health and social care professionals will help design. The intervention will prioritise comfort and what is important to each person to ensure the right services are in the right place at the right time.  People with young onset and rapidly progressive prion dementia will benefit from better understanding of their needs.  Through EMBED-Care we will provide evidence and generate a step-change in how care is provided for people of any age with any type of dementia to maximise their quality of life.
     
  • PROFILE – Understanding why some individuals with prostates, including those of Black African/Black-Caribbean ancestry, are at greater risk of prostate cancer.  Understanding the genetics that influence risk of prostate cancer could improve the way we screen for prostate cancer in the future, and help more people get diagnosed and treated early.
     

  • Domino-DFU (Diagnosis of Osteomyelitis: Investigation Optimisation in Diabetic Foot Ulcers - There are 4.5 million adults with diabetes in the UK, there is a 25% risk of developing a diabetic foot ulcer and 20% of developing Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis (DFO). The DOMINO - DFU studies primary objectives:

  • To characterise the population at risk of DFO
  • To estimate the incidence of DFO in the population at risk of developing DFO
  • To estimate healing status of all DFUs 12, 24 and 52 weeks from registration
  • To estimate mortality rates over 52 weeks from registration.
     
  • Pain At Work (Multicentre pragmatic cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial to assess potential effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Pain at Work (PAW) Toolkit in employees with chronic or persistent pain.- In this study we will trial an online toolkit which has been developed for employees with chronic pain. The toolkit offers materials designed to help them manage their condition at work, and access help and support if they need it.  Click here for additional information and to register.
     
  • An open-label, clinical feasibility study of the efficacy of Remdesivir for Long-COVID (ERASE) - This study is looking at the effect of Long Covid infection on patient’s health – physical and mental symptoms, some of which may last month or years and have a significant impact on the lives of these patients.  The study is trialling 5 days of IV Remdesevir for symptom-improvement/relief as it is thought that this known antiviral may have a positive impact in this patient group.
     
  • Phase III Study to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of Baxdrostat in Participants with Uncontrolled Hypertension on Two or More Medications including Participants with Resistant Hypertension - AstraZeneca CTIMP - PIC site for RPC (CRHT)- for patients with resistant and uncontrolled hypertension.  Option to trial Baxdrostat.  All activity after screening will take place in Chesterfield.

Acuity and Dependency Assessment: Exploring its use within Adult Community Nursing Settings in England  - To provide an in-depth critical explanation of the assessment of acuity and dependency in community nursing settings, building on or challenging current conceptualisations. This can then be used to contribute to the development of a conceptualisation of acuity and dependency that can be used at a national level.

Long-COVID syndrome: understanding how rurality influences design and development of pathways for delivery of sustainable care. Exploratory study in one geographic region - This study aims to describe how long-COVID services have been established in rural Derbyshire, as a way of informing how services might be more consistently designed to take account of the needs of rural communities in future. This will be explored by carrying out 3 workshops/interviews with DCHS staff members.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in elective foot surgery: do we need a prophylax? – The study aims to find out how common blood clots in the legs or lungs are after foot surgery.  Prophylaxis is a treatment to prevent people becoming unwell.  The research aims to find out if blood-thinning medicine is needed to reduce the risk of blood clots.

Developing Health Visiting Services for Families in Derbyshire – The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been substantial on healthcare systems and services users. Given that the first few years of life are most critical in determining future health and wellbeing over the whole life course, DCHS Children’s services wanted to understand the impact on the service and families in Derbyshire to explore ways to learn lessons and try to understand and mitigate disadvantages which have emerged or worsened over this period. The project “Developing Health Visiting services for families in Derbyshire” is currently in its data collection phase. The project is gathering evidence from families who have seen Health Visitors over the past few years, interviewing them about their experiences through the pandemic period up until now where there are more challenges faced by families such as the current cost of living crisis. The team are talking to staff members from the 0-19 service in focus groups to understand whether there have been any new or emerging needs for families with young children since the beginning of the pandemic, whether service delivery needs to adapt to help deal with their needs and also to understand the impact on staff health and wellbeing across the whole 0-19 service.  For more information click here to access the participant information sheet.

For a list of publications that DCHS staff have been involved in please click here.

Supporting you as you research

Health Education England/NIHR Clinical Scholars Programmes: These programmes are part of the HEE/NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) Training Programme for non-medical healthcare professionals, click here for more information and check to see if you're eligible here.

Here are some critical appraisal tools to help you evaluate research papers so you can establish if the paper is relevant to the subject you are/would like to research: CASP, BestBet, CEBM, JBI, Sign

e-LfH is currently developing and delivering over 150 e-learning programmes in partnership with the professional bodies such as Royal Colleges and associations, Department of Health policy teams and other arm's length bodies.

Click here for NIHR's website which is dedicated to your learning and development in health and social care research, the website has a wealth of information and resources.

NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs): These support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems.  The NIHR ARC East Midlands (EM) is one of 15 ARCs across England, part of a £135 million investment by the NIHR to improve the health and care of patients and the public. click here for more details.

 

EMER: The East Midlands Evidence Repository (EMER) is the official institutional research repository for: Derbyshire Community Health Services, Leicester Partnership Trust, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, Nottinghamshire Healthcare, Sherwood Forest Hospitals, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton and the University Hospitals Of Leicester.

EMER is intended to make NHS research more visible and discoverable by capturing, storing and preserving the East Midlands research output and making it available to the research community through open access protocols.

INVOLVE: National advisory group who promote public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.

I Am Research: An NIHR campaign which aims to promote the benefits of clinical research to patients, the general public and health professionals.

Clinical Trial Gateway: Provides easy to understand information about clinical trials run in the UK.

Funding Sources

How to Secure Funding: The first step to funding your research.

Health Research Authority: HRA and Research Ethics Committee approval.

NIHR Introduction: National Institute of Health Research.

NIHR Learn: Offers a range of resources to develop your knowledge of clinical research and support you to do what you do best. Create an account to access the learning and development resources.

CRN Portfolio: NIHR Clinical Research Network Portfolio.

NIHR Research Design Service: Research project design and funding application.

East Midlands CLAHRC: Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care.

IRAS applications: Integrated Research Application System.

CHAIN: Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN).  Online support network of people working in Health and Social Care.

Vitae: Research Development Framework (RDF) is a new approach to research development, to enhance our capacity to build the UK workforce, develop world-class reserachers and build our research base.

Writing for publications

Looking for information on how to get published? ​Whether you need access to resources, training or a quiet place to study we can help you. Click here to access some of the Derbyshire NHS Library & Knowledge Services useful resources and links to websites, training, library books and published articles about how to write for publication.

Posters and Display Material

This YouTube video is about creating simple, eye catching and engaging research posters for presentation sessions where people are actively browsing rather than static poster displays in foyers.

Get a scientific poster template here.

How to find free published research

Free Published Research
 

At DCHS we value evidence based practice and clinical effectiveness.  In order to support you in continuing your development, knowledge and expertise you will have free access to an OpenAthens account.  You will be able to gain access to electronic resources such as e-journals, databases and point of care tools. OpenAthens is a management system which authenticates access to these resources.

To register and gain access, please click here: https://openathens.nice.org.uk/

For any help on registering, logging in or navigating around the resources available through OpenAthens, please contact the Derbyshire NHS Library and Knowledge Service at:  

Email: crhft.library@nhs.net Tel: 01246 513035 Website: http://www.dchslibrary.co.uk/