Three awards celebrate life-changing research at Health and Care Research Wales Conference 2021

Health and social care researchers in Wales have been celebrated for their life-changing work into decision-making around antibiotic use, reducing post-partum haemorrhage and making dementia services more inclusive.

The Health and Care Research Wales Awards, which were presented at its annual conference, acknowledge incredible achievements of the Welsh research community over the past year.

Two new categories were introduced at this year’s annual awards, the Impact Award and the Rising Research Star Award, alongside the Public Involvement Award.

Professor Kieran Walshe, Director of Health and Care Research Wales, said: “So much has been achieved over the past 12 months, with Welsh researchers making significant contributions to several studies into COVID-19 vaccines and effective treatments. 

“These awards are a great opportunity to acknowledge the incredible efforts to deliver evidence which will improve the lives of people here in Wales and elsewhere, particularly as we look to beyond the pandemic. Thank you to all those who entered the awards this year and also to the judging panels for giving their time and valuable contributions.”

Impact Award - OBS Cymru

Dr Sarah Bell, consultant anaesthetist at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, accepted the Impact Award, on behalf of the Obstetric Bleeding Strategy (OBS) Cymru project. This Award recognises the difference Welsh health and social care research is making to people’s everyday lives.

Sarah said: “It is fantastic that the impact of the OBS Cymru project is being recognised. The project is the result of ten years of research into the best ways to identify and treat major bleeding after childbirth. It has now been adopted into routine maternity care throughout Wales, with 160 women per year now avoiding the need for a blood transfusion. 

“We’re excited to see the further impact of this research, as the OBS Cymru approach is likely to change future postpartum haemorrhage guidelines across the UK and internationally.” 

This study was a clear winner for the judging panel, as it not only demonstrated health benefits to patients but also has led to a change in routine maternity care across the whole of Wales.

Watch Sarah speak about the OBS Cymru project: 

Rising Research Star Award - Dr Emily Holmes

The Rising Research Star Award 2021 was given to Dr Emily Holmes, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME) at Bangor University. This award is for individuals in the early stage of their research career, already making an outstanding contribution to their field and developing as emerging leaders of the future.

Emily said: “I’m honoured to be recognised and to receive this award. I first developed an interest in health economics during my undergraduate degree when I studied the economics of breast cancer. I now research how people make decisions about their treatment options, particularly around taking antibiotics. I’m committed to providing evidence that will help the NHS to provide the best treatment options for patients.” 

The judges said that Emily was an exceptionally strong candidate and demonstrated great achievements in the field of health economics research.

Watch Emily speak about her work: 

Public Involvement Award - Dementia and Diversity Project

The Dementia and Diversity Project was given the Public Involvement Achievement Award 2021, which recognises the best use of involving the public to help shape research. 

Dr Sofia Vougioukalou, Research Fellow at Y Lab, the public services innovation lab at Cardiff University, accepted the award on behalf of the project, which was delivered in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, Diverse Cymru and Reality Theatre. 

The research project aims to improve dementia services for under-served groups, for example due to their ethnicity, language, sexuality or disability. This is because people from these groups are less likely to take up dementia services and the project sought to understand why.

Sofia said: “I am very humbled to accept this award on behalf of both the Dementia and Diversity research team and the members of the public who advised us for this study. So many people have been involved in this project and it’s wonderful for all our hard work to be recognised by Health and Care Research Wales. I love encouraging people to play their part in research and have learned so much from our public experts by experience. 

“Collaboration and coproduction are a vital part of making sure our research has impact and is relevant to people’s lives and also relevant to our public services who are responsible for delivering this care. It was important to us that people who have lived experience of being from an underserved and minoritised group and of dementia care were in the driving seat of everything we did.” 

The judges said this was a leading example of involving the public in research, which they hope can be embedded within other future research projects.

Watch Sofia talk about this research project: 

Winners received a £250 bursary to attend a training course, conference, workshop or similar event to develop an area of their research skillset.

Dr Andrew Goodall, Director General for Health and Social Services in Welsh Government, who presented the awards, said the judges were particularly impressed by the strong field of applicants and quality of entries this year, with many entries being Highly Commended.

Highly Commended:

Impact Award 

• Prediction of Risk and Communication of outcomes following major lower limb amputation, a collaborative study (PERCEIVE), led by David Bosanquet, Centre for Trials Research
• Early Warning Wearable Device and Virtual Reality-based Rehabilitation (EWWD Project), led by Mohammad Al-Amri, Cardiff University
• Shared decision making in rare disease in the United Kingdom, led by Dr Natalie Joseph-Williams, PRIME Centre Wales.

Public Involvement Award

• Talking Trials project, co-led by Sarah Bridges and Martina Sobodova, Centre for Trials Research

Rising Research Star

• Rhiannon Owen, Associate Professor of Statistics at Swansea University
• Dr Victoria Shepherd, Research Fellow at Cardiff University
• Dr Aimee Grant, Senior Research Officer at Swansea University

Following the success of the 2020 Health and Care Research Wales conference, the event was held online for the second time and focused on the theme of learning from the COVID-19 pandemic and looking forward.

Find out more about the speakers and presentations from this year’s conference.

Photo caption: Picture of the Dementia and Diversity team (credit: Dr Sofia Vougioukalou)