The Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health research network (LSIMHN) brings together many different perspectives on the topic of loneliness in relation to mental health. It is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). This is a funding body that connects academics and clinicians from world leading universities and NHS organisations to support innovative research.
The aim of the research network is to speed up the pace of research on loneliness and social isolation in mental health. It brings together researchers, health practitioners, charities, people with relevant lived experience and other organisations to address important mental health research questions. Topics we are interested in include:
- how mental health and social connections relate to each other
- whether tackling loneliness and social isolation is a way of improving people’s mental health
- how to reduce loneliness among people living with mental health problems.
The network is led by Professor Sonia Johnson and Dr Alexandra Pitman, both from University College London (UCL) Division of Psychiatry, as part of a team of co-investigators, and a co-production group.
They are looking for:
They are looking for people with experience of mental ill-health and loneliness or social isolation to join their Co-production Group (known as CoG). They want to ensure that the group is diverse and captures experiences from people of all walks of life. Therefore, they particularly welcome expressions of interest from young adults between 18-25 years of age, and people from minority ethnic backgrounds. They would need people to have relevant lived experience of mental distress and loneliness or social isolation.
Expected commitment from participants:
The COG is an expert resource for the research team and helps to steer and deliver research projects and events. It ensures that the projects the network works on are practical, ethical and highly relevant for the people who might experience mental health problems and/or loneliness and social isolation.
The plan is for the panel to meet up to four times each year over the lifetime of the project, which will be for approximately the next 4 years. Meetings are held online via Zoom.
Commitment to inclusion:
The network is committed to inclusion and endeavours to support individuals participating in the CoG’s activities. Meetings will be held online via Zoom. Researchers will be asked to present documents that they would like members to review in an accessible format, as well as to allow sufficient time to read and comment. Please let us know if any adjustments are needed.
Closing date to apply: Friday 3rd November 2023
Please visit the website for more information or you can follow them on Twitter: @UCL_Loneliness
If you apply for this opportunity please let the organisers know you saw it advertised by Shaping Our Lives. Thank you!
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