The Research Room

In settings where mental health specialists are scarce, how can we ensure patients get the care they need?
 
For our first episode in our May mental health mini-series, we’re joined by Dr Mehreen Faisal and Karen Coales to discuss the SPiRiT-D project. This innovative hybrid trial is bridging the mental health treatment gap in Pakistan by testing a collaborative care model to deliver evidence-based talking therapy with non-mental health professionals.
 
Listen as we chat about how to reach underserved communities, and how the team has culturally adapted their support to ensure it resonates with local patients. Stick around for our random research questions to find out why a little 'Chaos and Patience' is all you need to change the world of mental health!
 
Find out more about SPiRiT-D: https://www.impactsouthasia.com/  
Read the Protocol Paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13063-026-09453-5 
 
Music by Matthew Bailey

Is an ounce of prevention really worth a pound of cure when it comes to mental health? 
That’s the big question we’re tackling this week as we go on the road! We’ve left the comfort of The Research Room studio and headed to The Milner Hotel in York for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC)’s An ounce of prevention: How can the NHS make a transition towards prevention in mental health? Event.
With the NHS 10-Year Plan officially prioritising a shift toward preventative mental health care, we wanted to find out how researchers are working hard to make this happen. Armed with our brand-new portable mics, and with the fantastic help of Emma Standley and Heidi Benyair we joined a packed house of leading experts and researchers to bring you insights from a fantastic range of projects.
 
Find out more about the ARC Yorkshire & Humber: https://arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/
Find our more about the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group (MHARG) at the University of York: https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/mental-health/ 
 
Featured Interviews:
01:00 Professor Simon Gilbody - What is the day all about? Prevention in Mental Health: Aligning Evidence and the 10 Year Plan
04:00 Kate Robinson Knowledge Mobilisation Lead in the ARC with Yorkshire and Humber. Find out more: https://arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk/training/an-introduction-to-knowledge-mobilisation-practical-training/ 
08:31 Professor John Wright (Director of Bradford Institute of Health Research) Chief Investigator of Born in Bradford Project. Find out more: https://borninbradford.nhs.uk/ 
11:36 Dr Ruth Wadman (University of Bradford)  - Promoting Positive Adolescent Mental Health (PPAMH!) for School Climate - Feasibility Trial. Find out more: https://borninbradford.nhs.uk/what-we-do/studies/promoting-positive-adolescent-mental-health/ 
15:56 Kim Bevan and Amy Bedingham  from Tend VR - Feasibility and efficacy of a Virtual Reality Mindfulness Based Intervention for depression and anxiety. Find out more: https://www.tendmentalhealth.com/ 
21:58 Dr John Pickavance (Bradford Institute for Health Research)   The  IRL Trial : A School-Based RCT Investigating the Effects of Social Media Restrictions on the Mental Health of Under-16s (12-15 year olds) Find out More: https://bradfordresearch.nhs.uk/the-irl-trial/ 
25:55 Professor Dave McDaid  (Associate Professor at the London School of Economics)  - The Economics of Prevention: Is an ounce of Prevention Worth a Pound of Cure? Making the economic case for investing in prevention.  Find out more: https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/david-mcdaid 
28:22 Professor Scott Welch and Dr Joe Hulin (Research Fellow in Mental Health at the University of Sheffield) - Improving Suicide Prevention in Primary Care
35:01 Professor Claire Henderson (King’s College London) RECOLLECT - Recovery Colleges Characterising and Testing  . An adult education approach for learning to live with mental health conditions. Find out more: https://www.researchintorecovery.com/research/recollect/ 
45:17 Dr Philip Kerrigan (University of York)  From Manual to Mobile: A Digital Behavioural Activation Tool to Improve Mood in Adolescents During and Post-Therapy. The COMBAT Trial. Find out more: https://combatdepression.org/ 
52:24 Dr Trish Darcy - Nature-based Interventions to support mental health- Natural Environments and Health      
54:27 Dr Colin Palmer (Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health) Breath Education: Building youth mental health prevention infrastructure in schools. Find out more: https://breathe-edu.co.uk/ 
58: 25 Eloise Ryde and Pip Shaw -  PRIMROSE : Evaluating interventions to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in people living with severe mental illness
61:01 Aaron Wood and Stephanie Matteo (Seven Hills Research Clinic) Tertiary Prevention in Mood Disorders: establishing a specialist research clinic
65:09 Jo Orchard - Organiser of the event.
65:35 Professor Simon Gilbody  - A summary of the day.
Music by Matthew Bailey

Can we reduce the mental health impact of war?
This week in The Research Room, we’re venturing outside of the Department of Health Sciences once again! We're joined by Samantha Holmes from the York Law School and the Centre for Applied Human Rights for a fascinating look into the world of international law and conflict-related mental harm.
Sam shares her research as part of the Beyond Compliance Consortium (BCC), a global partnership investigating how to minimise civilian suffering during armed conflict. Using a qualitative approach, centered on the lived experiences of local communities across nine case-study countries, Sam's research explores how the reality of war impacts mental wellbeing and aims to uncover better ways to protect civilians and respond to the suffering caused by conflict.
Plus discover how the team is using gamification to turn complex research findings into an interactive mobile game!
 
Find out more about the BCC: https://beyond-compliance-consortium.org/ 
Listen to the BCC Podcast: https://beyond-compliance-consortium.org/podcast/
 
Music by Matthew Bailey

Happy Easter from The Research Room! We're taking a break for Easter this week and as it is The National Autistic Society's World Autism Acceptance Month we're re-visiting one of our favourite episodes from last year, The ASSSIST 2 Trial!
 
Dr. Kerry Bell and Dr. Jane Blackwell join us to chat about this fantastic trial, completed in 2022, which explored whether Social Stories™ could be an effective way to support autistic children at school. We discuss the ins and outs of the trial, the challenges they faced, especially when COVID threw a curveball their way and, excitingly, they even have results to share!
 
Resources & Links from this Episode
For more information about the ASSSIST 2 project, email jane.blackwell@york.ac.uk or kerry.bell@york.ac.uk  
Find out more about the ASSSIST 2 on the project website: https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/trials/ytutrialsandstudies/archive/asssist-2/
Check out the full trial findings here: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/camh.12740 
Watch the ASSSIST 2 trial come to life in this animation: https://youtu.be/NX0z6INrzdo?feature=shared 
Read the NIHR HTA report for the project here: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hta/JBTM8017 
 
Music by Matthew Bailey

Can we transform the dental chair from a place of fear into a space of calm for our youngest patients?
Approximately 1 in 5 children between the ages of 8 and 16 experience dental anxiety severe enough to impact their ability to visit the dentist. This week in the Research Room, we're joined by Professor Zoe Marshman and Vicky Exley to talk about the CALM Trial, a brilliant study exploring whether guided self-help cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) support can help children overcome dental anxiety and get the care they need.
Join us to explore why dental anxiety is so prevalent in children, its long-term impact on their oral health and well-being and how this research is paving the way for a more supportive dental experience. Plus, we find out why children are the ultimate research partners!
 
Find out more about CALM on the trial website  https://sheffield.ac.uk/dentalschool/research/calm
 
The protocol paper  https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-07046-6
 
The process evaluation paper https://doi.org/10.1111/cdoe.13025
 
 
Music by Matthew Bailey
 
 

How does academic research move beyond universities to actually change lives? This week in The Research Room, we're exploring something we hear a lot about in the world of research but that can often feel hard to define: Research Impact.
We are joined by Dr. Linda Ko-Ferrigno, University of York Impact Manager, and Dr. Jenny Spear, Impact Manager for the Faculty of Sciences, to break down what this term actually means, why it is so important, and how we go about achieving it.
Whether it's a change in national policy, a boost to the economy, or a benefit to the environment, we explore why the most successful research often takes on a life of its own. And don't miss our random research questions to find out how chocolate-covered flapjacks and labradors fit into the world of impact!
 
Resources from this episode:
Find out more about Research Impact at the University of York: https://sites.google.com/york.ac.uk/impactatyork and https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/research-impact/ 
Find out more about Health Sciences Impact at the University of York: https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/research-in-healthsciences/researchimpact/ 
University of York staff & students can find your Impact Manager details here: https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/research-impact/impact-support/contacts/#tab-2  
 
 

Did you know that lung cancer rates in Yorkshire are among the highest in the country? This week in The Research Room, we're joined by Professor Rachael Murray and Bec Thorley to tell us all about the YorQuit study. Funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, this fantastic 3-arm trial aims to find the best way to support people across Yorkshire to stop smoking and improve their lung health.
Join us as we go behind the scenes of the project and discover how the study is helping Yorkshire go smoke-free, one Greggs at a time!
 
Find out more about YorQuit:
https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/trials/ytutrialsandstudies/trials/yorquit/ 
 
 
Music by Matthew Bailey

Biologic therapies have revolutionised the treatment of autoimmune conditions, but when patients with inflammatory joint disease face surgery, clinicians and patients have a tough choice: stop these powerful medicines and risk a painful flare up of the condition or continue them and face potential infection or compromised healing.
This week in The Research Room Professor Kulveer Mankia and Trial Manager Dr Sam Brady tell us all about the PERISCOPE trial, a randomised controlled trial designed to settle this clinical catch-22.
We discover how this study aims to provide robust evidence that could change national guidelines and improve the lives of the vast number of people living with these conditions across the UK. Plus, discover what a well-known cartoon dog has to do with the future of orthopedic surgery!
 
Resources from this episode:
Find out more about PERISCOPE: https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/trials/ytutrialsandstudies/trials/periscope/#tab-2 
Read about the PERISCOPE trial here: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/6/e084997 
 
Music by Matthew Bailey
 

This week in the Research Room, we are joined by Consultant Hand Surgeons Emma Reay and Nick Johnson to get the full story on the SCOOTT project (Surgery versus Conservative Osteoarthritis Of Thumb Trial). This ambitious three-armed study explores a critical question: is the newer joint replacement, a traditional trapeziectomy (bone removal) or enhanced non-surgical care the best way to ease the pain of thumb arthritis.
We discuss why treatment varies so widely across the UK, the "mini hip replacement" for your hand, and the importance of gathering evidence for new surgical trends. Plus, find out how the SCOOTT acronym fared in our resident rating system!
 
Resources from this episode:
Find out more about the SCOOTT project here: https://www.scoott-trial.com/
Thumb replacement:
 
Music by Matthew Bailey
 

Have you ever wondered what it really takes to run a clinical trial? This week in The Research Room, we kick off 2026 by going behind the scenes of the York Trials Unit (YTU). We are joined by Director Professor Catherine Hewitt and Deputy Director Dr. Jude Watson to discover exactly what a trials unit does and why trials are so important.
From the history of the unit to the importance of the "Gold Standard" Randomised Control Trial, Catherine and Jude explain how their multidisciplinary team improves patient care one study at a time. Whether you are an aspiring researcher or simply interested in how research improves patient care, this episode reveals the teamwork behind the science.
 
Resources from this episode:
Find out more about York Trials Unit here: https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/trials/ 
 
Music by Matthew Bailey