Welcome to Research & Innovation at St Andrew's Healthcare

Research & Innovation supports St Andrew’s Healthcare clinicians and external collaborators in delivering our emerging research strategy, focused on improving the lives of people who experience complex mental health issues.

We fund, design and deliver collaborative patient-driven research, generating knowledge and interventions to enhance the lives of patients with some of the most complex mental health needs in the UK.

Our research approach underpins the wider charity’s agenda to deliver value-based, outcome-driven healthcare, delivered through individually personalised care packages and prioritising physical as well as mental health.

We share our knowledge through conference presentations, academic publications and publication in professional media. Our extensive academic library is well used by students and other research professionals.

Research Reports

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Research Report 2018/19 Research Report 2019/20 Research Report 2021/22 Research Innovation Annual Report 2022/2023

Research priorities

At St Andrew's Healthcare Research & Innovation, we want to drive a new agenda for mental health research in:

Personalisation: building a patient-centred knowledge base to change individual care and outcomes
Mental and physical health: developing treatments for the whole person, exploring the interplay between mental and physical conditions
Transition: enhancing event prediction and care precision to improve patient flow across mental and physical health systems and settings

If your research plans align with ours, please click here to see how you can collaborate with us.

Research Documents

Click below to download the reports

Research Policy v1.1 Mar 23 STAH research strategy 2018 2022

Research news

A day in the life of a St Andrew's Research Assistant

Elanor, our very own Research Assistant, has contributed a blog to the new series " A day in the life of..."

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Changing Reality: dementia patient stars in university film

85 year old Drew, a patient in our care, is no stranger to virtual reality (VR). Last year he enjoyed a VR session where he walked with dinosaurs, and a video experience was shared by millions of people on the intranet...

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Gamechangers: St Andrew's and Loughborough University work together to change attitudes towards exercise

An ongoing partnership between Loughborough University and St Andrew's Healthcare is changing the way patients feel about exercise

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Virtual reality research project helps improve quality of life for people with dementia

We are proud to have worked with the University of Kent on an exciting research project

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Student's story educates healthcare assistants on the benefits of exercise for those living with severe mental illness

A fictional story created by a Loughborough University student as part of her master's degree is being valued and shared by the charity

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Memorandum of Understanding signed to officially mark new research partnership

We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to officially mark our research partnership with Loughborough University's National Centre for Sport & Exercise Medicine (NCSEM-EM).

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How we are exploring virtual reality with help from our dementia patients

Eight of our patients with complex dementia have been exploring the use of virtual reality headsets, as part of an exciting research project in collaboration with the University of Kent.

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Are healthcare workers the answer to improving patients’ physical wellbeing?

Researchers from Loughborough University have been working in partnership with us to investigate the effect physical exercise has on patients who are severely mentally ill.

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