Health Determinants Research Collaboration

We have been awarded £4.8million from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to set up a centre for research excellence, aimed at increasing the research capacity of Cumberland Council and conducting research with our communities about health inequalities.

NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations enable local authorities to become more research-active, embedding a culture of evidence-based decision making in their activities.    

The council bid for the funding as part of its commitment to put improving the health and wellbeing of residents at the heart of its work. It also wants to take a preventative, evidence-based and innovative approach to the issues many of its resident’s face and embed this across the work of all of its teams. 

What will this mean?

The money will go towards the creation of a new research team within the council which will work with partners in the voluntary sector. It will also allow close partnership working with researchers at the University of Cumbria and the University of Central Lancashire. Much of the team's work will focus on some of the more deprived local communities in the area.   

By boosting research the council and its partners will have a better understanding of the health issues and inequalities in the area, allowing it to develop strategies on how best to tackle them to improve the health and wellbeing of its residents.

Find out more about our plans

You can find out more about our ambitions by reading our Business Plan:

You can also hear from Colin Cox – Cumberland Council’s Director of Public Health – as he talks about public health, the project and the opportunities it provides:

• Find out more about the HDRC, funding award and research project
• Find out more about why you should choose a career in public health

You can also hear from Brian Webster Henderson - University of Cumbria Recruitment.

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Current research projects

The Big Question: Understanding the reasons for suicide rates in Cumberland

We have have started a project to help understand the reasons behind the high incidence of suicide in Cumberland, and determine how best to support people with their mental health.

The research will explore residents’ and communities’ exposure to suicide, if and how it has affected their lives and, if they have considered suicide, why this was. It is also hoped to understand what could or would have helped them to make different choices. 

The findings of this study will directly underpin future suicide prevention work. 

An online survey is available to anyone over 18 who lives in Cumberland. This can be found online.

Researchers would also like to speak directly with residents who are aged over 18 who have experience of personal suicidal thoughts or behaviours, or been affected through bereavement. They are also keen to interview anyone supporting someone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviours, either personally or as part of their profession.  

Cumberland currently has the fourth highest rate of suicide in the country, and this work will help inform the council’s Suicide Prevention Plan. 

To find out more go to the project’s website where you can also see the participant information sheet. Residents can also contact the research team Dr Emma Ashworth and Becky Clarke. 

The study which is being conducted by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University has been commissioned by Cumberland Council and supported by the council’s Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), which is itself funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).  Funding for this particular project is from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.