The NIHR's mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation.
Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, we invest over £1 billion a year in research that provides people working in the front lines of the NHS, public health and social care with the evidence they need to better support patients, service users and the public.
Read about how our work is influencing care, and making a positive difference to people, and the economy.
These are the stories of our research
Exercise programmes reduce falls among the over 65s by almost a quarter.
Public engagement from the outset of research helped NIHR researchers develop a website to explain complex and sensitive children’s heart surgery data to the public. The lessons learned led to a best practice guide for researchers involving patients and the public in research.
Faced with a growing burden of liver disease, researchers at the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre reimagined the way that patients could be diagnosed in community settings. Their pathway has been tested and is being taken up by the NHS to the benefit of patients.
A blood test has been shown to speed up diagnosis of pre-eclampsia and help determine which women are at most risk of developing severe complications. The test is now widely available across the NHS.
A new approach to the prevention of challenging behaviour among people with learning disabilities in social care settings has reduced challenging behaviour by two thirds and been rolled out across 800 residential settings.
Dr Pearse Keane, NIHR Clinician Scientist, is responsible for a research collaboration that has the potential to save sight.
A non-invasive test for prostate cancer gives a clearer picture of clinically relevant cancer, ruling out cancer in many cases and ensuring more accurate biopsy for those who need it
An electronic frailty index developed by NIHR-funded researchers has been rolled out in primary care nationally.
Screening women for breast cancer in their forties reduces their chance of dying from breast cancer by 25% in the first 10 years of screening.
NIHR-funded researchers from the University of Glasgow evaluated the effectiveness of Football Fans in Training (FFIT) - a programme to help football fans lose weight, feel better and live a healthier lifestyle.