The five-year project will be launched on December 2, 2022
Experts from the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and University of Leicester have been awarded a grant of nearly £10 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), UK to help improve the health outcomes and re-orient health systems to effectively address Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTCs) or multimorbidity in India and Nepal. Both the institutes will collaborate with the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Jodhpur, Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), Delhi, and Kathmandu Medical College (KMC), Kathmandu.
During the first stage of the research implementation, the researchers will review existing evidence, generate new data as required and talk to people living with these conditions to identify the best care approach for people with multimorbidity in both countries.
In addition, using the concepts of ‘co-design and community engagement/involvement’ they will conduct studies to assess what type of integrated, technology-enabled, patient-centred, high impact, equitable health system intervention designs could most benefit individuals with two or more long-term conditions, which are increasingly impacting population health in both countries. As part of the project, 17 places on master’s degrees, 19 PhDs as well as 14 post-doctoral placements will be available in Leicester, Birmingham or Brunel, covering applied health research, implementation science, medical statistics, quality and safety in healthcare, health data science and diabetes.
In addition, Public Health Foundation of India and University of Leicester with other co-applicant institutions will deliver short courses to approximately 400 participants.
In the long-term, the centre will work with Indian and Nepal governments to improve the health outcomes of those with MLTCs, as well as create a self-sustaining centre for improving management of MLTCs not only in these countries but also in other LMICs which face similar problem. The learnings and findings from the centre’s activities will be disseminated globally.
The five-year project will be launched on December 2, 2022.
The Chief Guest for the launch Prof VK Paul Member, NITI Aayog, Government of India said, “With increase in life expectancy India is witnessing a rising burden of non-communicable diseases and many a time the NCDs co-occur in the same patient. Given this unique challenge of managing different conditions in the same patient/person, innovative research like the one being proposed under the Centre is warranted to improve MLTC care and population health in India.”