NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) West

But barriers remain, and this guidance is one small piece of the puzzle. Read the full paper by @drrowanbrockman.bsky.social Fiona Gillison, Lis Grey, Russ Jago, Georgie MacArthur, Callum Gutteridge, @bekilangford.bsky.social

bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/2...

How do public health practitioners use parental guidance for talking to children about weight? - ARC West How public health practitioners are using parental guidance to talk to children is explored in a new qualitative study published in BMJ Open. Evidence-based guidance was developed in 2021 to support p...

Our new study in BMJ Open explores how 2021 parental guidance on talking to children about weight is being used in practice across the UK:

✅ Practitioners value the compassionate and non-stigmatising tone
✅ It’s being used in NCMP feedback letters & staff training

arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/how-do-publi...

Picture of attendees at an event celebrating the end of the DEM-COMM (Dementia Community) programme in 2026 in Southampton

Explore the latest ​roundup of top stories from all our NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) across the country:

👉 mailchi.mp/nihr/march-2...

Featuring the latest news, resources, blogs, events, opportunities & more

📨 Join the newsletter here: tinyurl.com/ARCsnewsletter

How well are community members involved in designing behavioural weight management programmes? - ARC West Community members are often involved in designing behavioural weight management programmes but less often in delivering them and rarely in evaluating them. This is according to a review of research on...

Community members are often involved in designing behavioural weight management programmes but less often in delivering them and rarely in evaluating them, according to our new #SystematicReview published in BMC Public Health.
#WeightManagement #Obesity
arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/how-well-are...

Global gaps in use of two life-saving antenatal treatments for premature babies, reveals worldwide analysis - ARC West A new global analysis of two antenatal treatments that reduce the risk of cerebral palsy and respiratory complications in premature babies reveals significant international variation in implementation...

📢 New paper!
Worldwide analysis reveals gaps in use of two life-saving antenatal treatments for premature babies

👉 arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/global-gaps-...

@hannah-b-edwards.bsky.social
@karenluyt.bsky.social
@frankdv.bsky.social
@vtoxfordnetwork.bsky.social
@bristoluni.bsky.social

We found big gaps in use of 2 effective, cheap, simple #antenatal treatments to protect #preterm babies. In theory they should be accessible to all mothers, in all resource settings. About 3/4 eligible mothers get them in richer countries, but only about 1/2 in poorer countries bit.ly/40sNIon

Does the use of National Early Warning Scores (NEWS or NEWS2) in healthcare settings improve patient outcomes: a systematic review - Systematic Reviews Background The National Early Warning Score (NEWS), and updated NEWS2, is used to detect all-cause deterioration, based on clinical observations. Many studies have validated the prognostic accuracy of...

Read the full paper by @bristollauren.bsky.social Joni Jackson, Sarah Dawson, Thomas Knight & @jelenasavovic.bsky.social published in BMC Systematic Reviews here:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Evidence lacking on effectiveness of National Early Warning Scores - ARC West A review has found that while the National Early Warning Score (NEWS and its update NEWS2) is widely used across the NHS and globally, there is a surprising lack of high-quality evidence to prove it d...

Our latest systematic review has found that while the National Early Warning Score (NEWS and its update NEWS2) is widely used across the NHS and globally, there is a surprising lack of high-quality evidence to prove it directly improves patient outcomes
arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/evidence-lac...

Research conversation: Masking and mental health in neurodivergent young people - ARC West About the event The ‘Masking and mental health in neurodivergent young people’ project aims to support young people who mask their neurodivergence, such as autism or ADHD. This is also known as camouf...

⏰ Don't miss it!
Research conversation: Masking and mental health in neurodivergent young people

🗓️ Tomorrow (25 Feb) 5-6pm, online

Sign up 👉 arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/research-con...

#autism #ADHD #neurodivergence #masking #MentalHealth #ResearchConversations

Bristol BRC researchers awarded £2.3 million for follow-on research - Bristol Biomedical Research Centre Bristol BRC researchers have been awarded £2.3 million by NIHR to study whether prehabilitation can help frail patients having total hip or knee replacement, following a successful Bristol BRC feasibi...

🎉 Bristol BRC researchers have been awarded £2.3 million for follow-on research!

🧓 The grant from NIHR will allow the researchers to study whether #prehab can help frail patients having total hip or knee replacement

👉 www.bristolbrc.nihr.ac.uk/bristol-brc-...

#BristolBRCimpact

📢 Listen to our own @zoetw.bsky.social on this podcast, talking about how to share research clearly and accessibly 🎙️ 👇

Proyecto piloto en farmacias comunitarias ofrecer Servicio de PrEP:

Se integraron consultas de PrEP en farmacias y se ofrecieron autotests de ITS, VIH y función renal.
Los farmacéuticos informaban, entregaban kits y derivaban a la servicios de salud para prescripción remota.

Man talking to pharmacist in pharmacy

📰News!📰Community pharmacies are a promising site for expanding access to HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), according to a recent study. This is a highly effective medication can be used to reduce the risk of getting HIV.
More ▶️ tinyurl.com/ysn6kkkh @arc-west.bsky.social @jhorwood.bsky.social

Our pilot study shows community pharmacies are an acceptable setting for #PrEP awareness and referral. Pharmacists successfully initiating PrEP conversations & linking people to remote prescribing. A practical way to expand #HIV prevention access

#STI #STISky 🛟 @nat.org.uk @bhiva.bsky.social

Development and implementation of a pharmacy PrEP awareness-raising and referral pathway: acceptability and feasibility of a UK pilot Objectives To develop and pilot a community pharmacy pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness-raising and referral pathway, informed by a literature review and interviews with pharmacists and communi...

The #PReP pharma project is led by @jhorwood.bsky.social China Harrison @hpruebs.bsky.social @gilead.com and HPRU in Blood Borne and Sexually Transmitted Infections at UCL

Full paper in BMJ Sexually Transmitted Infections sti.bmj.com/content/earl...

Community pharmacies: A new frontier for PrEP access - ARC West Community pharmacies are a “promising site” for expanding access to HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), according to a recent pilot study led by researchers at NIHR ARC West and NIHR Health Protectio...

Our just published pilot study found community pharmacies are a promising site for expanding access to HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) - particularly for under-served groups who may not engage with traditional #SexualHealth clinics

#PrEP #HIV #HIVPrevention

arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/community-ph...

Helping people to live and survive co-use of benzodiazepines/z-drugs and opioids: the importance of asking how and why people co-use - Drug Research Network Scotland Helping people to live and survive co-use of benzodiazepines/z-drugs and opioids: the importance of asking how and why people co-use Gabriele Vojt, Joanna Kesten, Jennifer Scott, Hannah Family, on beh...

Helping people to live and survive co-use of benzodiazepines / z-drugs and opioids: the importance of asking how and why people co-use: a new @drnscot.bsky.social blog by Gabriele Vojt, @jokesten.bsky.social Jennifer Scott @hannah-family.bsky.social
#HarmReduction
drns.ac.uk/benzo-blog/

New partnership set to revolutionise data access - southwestsde-nhs-uk The South West Secure Data Environment (SDE) has secured £440k to lead two new projects to demonstrate the potential of the NHS SDE Network.

Introducing the Bristol Research and Innovation Data Engineering (BRIDE) Hub, set to revolutionise access to #Bristol hospital data.

Our new partnership with Bristol NHS Group, @bristoluni.bsky.social @uwebristolofficial.bsky.social @bristolbrc.bsky.social
www.southwestsde.nhs.uk/new-partners...

The NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) February 2026 newsletter The national newsletter from across all the NIHR ARCs. In this edition: The first major trial to reduce social media use among healthy adolescents, Continuous care from community-based midwives reduce...

🗞️ Read the February national roundup of top stories from all ARCs across the country:

mailchi.mp/nihr/februar...

Including news, resources, blogs, events, opportunities & much more

📨 Join the newsletter tinyurl.com/ARCsnewsletter

From brain fog to blood pressure – how real life menopause experiences shaped our recent event - ARC West Adele is a long-serving ARC West public contributor, and one of the brains behind our recent ‘Let’s talk about menopause’ event and video. Here she explains why she wanted to make her idea become a re...

"I was one of the people who’d walked away from their career when they didn’t need to"

Public contributor Adele shares her story of how perimenopausal brain fog led her to leave her teaching job, and how she's helping others in a similar position

Read her blog:
arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/from-brain-f...

“Menopause is not a problem to be hidden” - ARC West Joanne Lloyd, one of our public contributors behind our recent Let’s talk about the menopause event, blogs about how the day went for her. I was really pleased to be asked to take part in the Let’s ta...

"Menopause is not a problem to be hidden. It is a shared life stage."

Public contributor Joanne Lloyd blogs about our recent 'Let's talk about the menopause' event. 🌸

arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/menopause-is...

#Menopause #WomensHealth #HealthEquity #ARCWest

2026: Applications open for NIHR post-doctoral fellowships | Centre for Academic Primary Care | University of Bristol

Applications are now open for @nihrspcr.bsky.social funded primary care research post-doctoral fellowships to start in October 2026.

The 24-month fellowships can be taken up at any of the 9 NIHR School for Primary Care Research institutions, including here at Bristol.

Details: tinyurl.com/3nc9abzs

👀 Looking for a postdoctoral #fellowship? 👇

💡 Interested in qualitative research methods?

👀 Read our recent paper on how conducting an #ethnography can help understand context when designing public health interventions 🏃‍♂️

👉 Read the paper: bit.ly/4boXM8W
👉 Read more about our project: arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/passport-cre...

The NIHR ARC West newsletter - January edition In this edition: How pupils feel about school behaviour policies; Millions could be unlocked through better implementation of evidence; Making space for art in research; Plus much more

📮Our first email newsletter of 2026 is out today!

In this edition: In this edition: How pupils feel about school behaviour policies; Millions could be unlocked through better implementation of evidence; Making space for art in research

➕Plus much more.

mailchi.mp/nihr/nihr-ar...

Introduction to implementation economics - Health Innovation West of England 11/02/2026 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm -

📢 Upcoming webinar: Introduction to implementation economics!

Hosted by @healthinnowest.bsky.social

❓Looking to deepen your understanding of economic evaluation in real-world healthcare innovation?

🗓️ 11 Feb, 12-1pm

➡️ Register: www.healthinnowest.net/event/introd...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: NIHR Webinar Series - 11 - How to Develop a PPI Group. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. What is the webinar series about? Patient and public involvement is a prerequisite for all research funded by NIHR. It can enhance the relevance and quality of research and help build trust in the res...

📣 Are you a researcher? Interested in #PPIE?

👀 Watch the NIHR PPI webinar: How to develop a PPI group
🗓️ 18 Feb, 10.30am

Find out about the Bristol-based PPI group, working as part of the #HeartSurgery #prehabilitation research team

👉 Register: bit.ly/4t31evY

YouTube video by NIHR ARC West What do women wish they’d known about the menopause?

Check out the highlights and hear from the attendees in our video from the day
youtu.be/rI4QwK4sCPc?...

What do women wish they’d known about the menopause? - ARC West The things women wish they’d known about the menopause are explored in a new video, inspired by our recent ‘Let’s talk about the menopause’ event. The idea for the event came from a group of our publi...

❓What do you wish you’d known about the menopause?

We brought 50 women together at a Bristol community centre to share evidence-based information on HRT, nutrition and more.

🗞️Find out more about the event in our news story

arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/what-do-wome...

#PublicHealth #MenopauseAwareness

street tablets

📰News!📰Understanding street tablet users’ perspectives in an area with many drug-related deaths.
“Collaborating with peer researchers was integral to engaging this high-risk & underrepresented population of people who use drugs" More➡️ tinyurl.com/34sywrc7 @arc-west.bsky.social @jokesten.bsky.social