On 9th January there was a huge boost to children’s palliative care research in the UK, with the announcement that Professor Lorna Fraser, based at Kings College London, has won a prestigious professorship from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). She is one of seven NIHR Research Professors awarded this funding.
The NIHR Research Professorships scheme funds and supports research leaders of the future. Each will receive a five-year award of up to £2 million. This includes three support posts, research costs and access to a leadership and development programme. It aims to strengthen and benefit health, public health and care research leadership. The 5-year award allows outstanding academics to work at professorial level based at universities, in partnership with an NHS organisation or another provider of health, public health and/or care services. Previous NIHR Research Professors’ research has led to interventions which have improved patient care.
Lorna is Professor of Palliative Care at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care at Kings College London. Professor Fraser’s research topic is: Improving Care for children with life-limiting Conditions: developing, adapting, impLementing and Evaluating interventions (ICICLE).
Her project aims to improve the care provided to children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. The number of children living with conditions that may shorten their lives is increasing, with children from minoritised ethnic groups and living in areas of high deprivation, particularly affected. Parents frequently become full time healthcare providers for their children, and report issues with fragmented care, battles with services and concerns over lack of support to ensure safety for their child. Although advances in medicine have enabled these children to survive longer, the healthcare system have not developed in parallel and families are often left unsupported. Her project aims to assess and map the way services and support is delivered to children with life-shortening conditions and their families. Working with families she will then identify and make any changes required. These changes will be tested, rolled out and evaluated to understand if they make the care easier to access, more joined up, inclusive and of a higher quality.
“I am really delighted to have been awarded one of this year’s NIHR Professor Awards. This gives us the opportunity to undertake important research with our most vulnerable children and families to improve the care they receive from health and social care, focusing on helping them to thrive not just survive.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care, said:
“The NIHR Research Professorship is one of our most prestigious career awards. The award funds outstanding researchers to help address the major health and care issues of today and in the future, strengthening health, public health and care research leadership at the highest academic levels. I congratulate this cohort and look forward to seeing the impact their research will have on people and communities.”
Since 2011, 73 people have been successful in gaining the competitive award. Many have gone on to become senior research leaders.
The NIHR Research Professorship is seen as transformative in a researcher’s career. A survey of active and complete award holders from 2011-2022 found it:
- increases their academic reputation and influence
- helps progress careers by facilitating access to leadership roles
- leads to the development of important collaborations in the UK and internationally
- is seen as one of the most prestigious funding schemes for clinical academics
- helps develop leaders and build capacity
The award has also helped raise the profile and improve the understanding of different diseases. One NIHR Research Professor explained how it “transformed the research landscape” in their field.
We congratulate Professor Fraser on this remarkable achievement and look forward to sharing more about her research in future editions of E-hospice.