Biography information for Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Tracey Crouch on Health.
1
Norman Lamb
A range of steps are being taken to encourage and support research into non-drug dementia therapies. Research spending on dementia has increased by nearly 50% since 2010/11, and is on course to meet the Government’s target of doubling public sector research funding on dementia to £66 million by 2015. During the second year of the Prime Minister’s Challenge, research funders have implemented and enhanced initiatives to generate the research evidence needed to make a step change in prevention, treatment and care. Research on non-drug therapies represents a significant part of this effort.
In December 2012, £22 million of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funding was announced for 21 successful research projects that will pioneer dementia diagnosis and ground breaking treatments. Subsequently the Government allocated £20 million for research on living well with dementia (projects commencing in early 2014) with the NIHR and the Economic and Social Research Council awarding funding research grants focused on improving quality of life for people with dementia and their carers. This research programme represents the world’s largest social science research programme on dementia and care, comprising six major research studies to support living well with dementia initiatives and identifying effective interventions, in the clinic, in the nursing home, and in everyday life.
The NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research Programme is now also calling for further applications for research funding on dementia services, to address key priorities identified following a James Lind Alliance and Alzheimer’s Society priority setting partnership between patients, carers, researchers and clinicians (held in 2013). This was broad and included all aspects of patient experience and care.
In addition, one of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) and Units (BRUs) with dementia-related research themes, the NIHR Oxford BRC has a theme focussing on cognitive health. For this, the BRC has brought together an alliance of multi-disciplinary researchers to produce an integrated programme of translational research in cognitive health, aiming to produce benefit for patients by harnessing the lifelong adaptive ability of the brain to protect against the onset of dementia and to limit the impact of dementia on people’s lives.
Within the award of 13 new NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care there is also considerable focus on research into non-drug approaches to dementia care.
