Minutes
Meeting:
NIHR Evidence Synthesis Programme Grants 2020
Date and time:
Friday 15 January 2021, from 10:00 to 16:00
Place:
Video conference via Microsoft Teams
Members:
- Professor Ken Stein (KS), ESP Programme Director
- Professor John Powell (JP), ESP Deputy Programme Director
- Dr Phil Alderson (PA), NICE Representative
- Professor Andrew Booth (AB), Academic Advisor
- Professor Jo Lord (JL), Academic Advisor
- Dr Matt Ridd (MR), NHS Representative
- Mr Malcolm Turner (MT), Public Representative
- Professor Olivia Wu (OW), Complex Reviews Support Unit
Observers:
- Dr Karla Soares-Weiser (KSW), Cochrane Editor-in-Chief
- Dr Vivian Welch (VW), Campbell Collaboration Editor-in-Chief
Secretariat:
- Ms Sally Bailey (SB), NETSCC
- Mrs Sarah Harwin (SH), NETSCC
- Mrs Carly Ballan (CB), NETSCC
Apologies:
None
Item
Meeting welcome
Welcome, introductions and apologies
Introductions were made. No apologies to be noted.
Introduction to ESPG 2020, format for VC and scoring process
KS introduced ESPG 2020, 16 applications had been received. Applications are to be a maximum of £100,000 each.
KS outlined that any comments made in the chat function on Teams will not be recorded in the minutes. The meeting was recorded as part of the netnographic study, members were contacted in advance of the meeting to give consent. It was also highlighted that members of the committee will have received NIHR’s commitment to EDI and expanding reach into ethnic minorities and other under-served communities’ unconscious bias paper. All members should have familiarised themselves with the paper.
Scoring would be on a scale of 1-6, with 6 ranking the highest and 1 the lowest.
Review of applications and initial scoring
132114: Pharmacotherapies and electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation: evaluating comparative effectiveness, safety and tolerability using component network meta-analysis
Conflicts: JP left the meeting
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
132217: Treatments for people with balance disorders; a suite of prioritised Cochrane systematic reviews following a multi-stakeholder scoping project
Conflicts: JP left the meeting
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
132298: Cochrane Systematic reviews on priority research topics in preventing or treating chronic liver disease
Decision: Reject.
132748: A programme of high priority Cochrane systematic reviews to investigate the management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: Optimal biologic and immunomodulator therapies, diet therapies, telehealth and education interventions
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
132805: Cochrane review: Interventions for hyperhidrosis
Conflicts: MR left the meeting.
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
132933: Pre-operative interventions to improve postoperative outcomes and promote healthier lifestyles: proposal from the Cochrane Anaesthesia Review Group
Conflicts: JP and PA left the meeting.
Decision: Reject.
133046: Complex Cochrane systematic reviews to evaluate and compare the evidence for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for the primary prevention of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
133161: SUPPORTing MEntal Health decision-making - a response to COVID-19 (SUPPORT-ME COVID-19)
Decision: Reject.
133102: Synthesised evidence of interventions aimed at helping to reduce and prevent asthma-related deaths
Decision: Reject.
133112: Treatment of Ischaemic Heart Disease in the 2020s – a Cochrane Evidence Synthesis
Decision: Reject.
133131: Cochrane Neonatal Evidence Synthesis Programme: Improving the evidence-based for preterm and sick newborn infants and their families
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
133097: Intergenerational practices and intergenerational learning in health and social care: exploring the evidence from the perspective of older people
Conflicts: KS and MT left the meeting
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
133172: Evidence mapping review of intergenerational interventions and a systematic review to explore their effect on social and mental wellbeing of children and young people
Conflicts: KS and AB left the meeting
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
133216: Service delivery interventions for people with epilepsy and for people with epilepsy and intellectual disability
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
133238: Effective methods of data collection by post and electronically – an updated and expanded review of the evidence
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
133287: Evidence synthesis of two systematic reviews (1) effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for reducing problematic substance use, improving mental health, and improving housing stability for adults experiencing homelessness; and (2) barriers and facilitators accessing psychosocial interventions
Decision: To be funded subject to changes and conditions.
Review ranked applications and agree funding
The Committee agreed that decisions to fund were accurate, appropriate and final.
Meeting close
KS thanked all Committee members and observers for their time. Recommendations for funding will be sent to the Department of Health and Social Care for approval and sign off before outcomes are disseminated to applicants.