Gambling-related harms research handed £5.5m funding boost
Subject to make up part of new policy research unit to be supported by government-funded National Institute for Health and Care Research from January 2024
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has awarded more than £100m to 20 new policy research units (PRU) that will tackle health and social care issues including addiction.
As part the new addictions policy research unit, gambling will be included as a focus area.
The NIHR, which is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, confirmed the 20 PRUs would begin work in January 2024.
Each PRU will receive between £3m and £5.5m over the course of a three-to-five-year contract.
The addiction PRU will receive a £5.5m funding award, with research being led by the University of Sheffield, King’s College London and the University of Glasgow.
The inclusion of gambling in the PRU comes following recommendations from Glasgow professors Gerda Reith and Heather Wardle to explore gambling-related harms and the rapid change in gambling-related technology.
The research will explore “long-standing and emerging health and social care issues” and provide policymakers across government and the NHS with evidence to inform decisions.
Wardle said: “We’re delighted that gambling has been included in the new addictions policy research unit, raising the profile and esteem of gambling research and policy in an unprecedented way.
“Working with a talented team of researchers, we’ll be able to look at commonalities and differences across addictive behaviours and products to support effective policy development.”
The PRU system has been running since the 1970s. The NIHR has provided funding totalling £75m over the last five years as part of the current cycle. The current 15 units focus on areas such as adult social care, cancer and obesity.
In addition to a PRU on addiction, new units will focus on palliative and end of life care, reproductive health, as well as dementia and neurodegeneration.
Other new PRUs included from the January 2024 cycle through to 2028, include continued research on existing topics including public health and behavioural science.
Professor Lucy Chappell, NIHR CEO, said: “The NIHR’s new policy research units are designed to provide strong evaluation of policy. This helps government and related organisations to be able to act on the latest evidence when making decisions about health and social care that could impact us all.
“Several new topics will expand the ability of the units to help address the major healthcare challenges that we are facing, including improving reproductive health, tackling addiction as well as dementia and neurodegeneration,” Chappell added.