NIHR themed calls are funding opportunities focusing on a specific priority research area.
When assessing funding applications, NIHR prioritises those submitted in response to a themed call.
The current theme forms part of a co-ordinated response by NIHR to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Areas of Research Interest 1 (ARI1): early action to prevent poor health outcomes.
It aims to generate high-quality research into the evaluation of health and care interventions and services which address gaps in our understanding of preventative strategies, early diagnosis techniques, and effective interventions for individuals at increased risk of chronic diseases such as:
- obesity
- cardiovascular disease
- type 2 diabetes
- mental health disorders
- hearing loss
- musculoskeletal disorders (MSK)
- cancer
All research proposals will be expected to consider engagement, impact and knowledge mobilisation strategies, in addition to the following cross-cutting themes:
- Reducing health inequalities, by addressing the social determinants of health, the clustering of risk factors in the most disadvantaged populations with the greatest disease burden, ensuring equitable access to services and tailored interventions designed to reduce disparities.
- Promoting economic growth in the broadest sense, including a healthier workforce, a more efficient NHS, a higher skilled health and social care workforce, and through investment in the life sciences.
- Accelerating the speed and adoption of innovation in the health and care system.
HOW TO APPLY
Participating funding programmes with open and recurring researcher-led calls:
- Research Programme for Social Care
- Programme Grants for Applied Research
- Research for Patient Benefit
- Health Technology Assessment
- Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation
- Public Health Research
- Invention for Innovation
- Health and Social Care Delivery Research
Other funding opportunities linked to this area of research interest are as follows:
- Transabdominal ultrasound surveillance for gallbladder cancer in patients with gallbladder polyps (deadline: 24 September 2025)
- Optimal dosing for cancer treatments (deadline: 3 September 2025)
- The effectiveness of interventions to support children and young people affected by sexual abuse (deadline: 30 July 2025)
- A behavioural intervention for anxiety disorder in adults with a moderate to severe learning disability (deadline: 30 July 2025)
- A behavioural intervention to treat anxiety disorder in children with a moderate to severe learning disability (deadline: 30 July 2025)
- Prehospital cardiac troponin testing to rule out NSTEMI (deadline: 24 September 2025)
- Increasing social support and parenting skills for parents with learning disabilities (30 July 2025)
- Improving diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection in older adults (deadline: 30 July 2025)
- Pharmacological treatment with and without cognitive behaviour therapy for gambling that harms (deadline: 30 July 2025)
- Early action within primary care (apply via recurring researcher-led funding opportunities within relevant funding programmes)
- Midlife interventions (deadline: 15 August 2025)
- Coastal communities (deadline 15 August 2025)
- Uptake of population screening programmes (deadline: 15 August 2025)
- Children and young people’s mental health (deadline: 15 August 2025)
- Greenspace and natural environments (deadline: 12 December 2025)
- Healthy extended working lives (deadline: 15 August 2025)
- Stop smoking interventions for underserved groups (deadline: 15 August 2025)
- Interventions to promote mental health and wellbeing among young women (apply via recurring researcher-led funding opportunities offered through the Public Health Research Programme)
- Men’s mental health (apply via recurring researcher-led funding opportunities offered through the Public Health Research Programme)
- Commercial determinants of health (deadline 15 August 2025)
PREVIOUS THEMED CALLS
The following themes remain ongoing priorities for all NIHR funding programmes:
- antimicrobial resistance
- chronic pain
- complex health and care needs in older people
- dementia
- frailty
- injuries, accidents and urgent and emergency care
- long term conditions in children
- medicinal cannabis
- mental health
- mesothelioma
- multimorbidities in older people
- obesity
- pandemic flu
- primary care
- surgical and implantable devices
- sustainability
- very rare diseases
Interested researchers are encouraged to apply for funding in these areas via researcher-led opportunities within relevant funding programmes.