Please note: The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme would like to draw researchers’ attention to the commissioning brief below, which was first advertised in Spring 2021 and again in winter 2021. This is a brief that we have previously advertised as a commissioned funding opportunity. We are still interested in receiving applications in this research area, as it remains a priority in our portfolio. However, please note that the commissioning brief, along with the underpinning literature searches, has not been updated since originally written.
Whilst this is not a call for specifically Covid-19 related research, the Public Health Research Programme recognises that the experience of the lockdown may have stimulated interventions worthy of research that would be generalisable for normal times.
Research question(s)
• Which interventions are effective and cost-effective in impacting gambling-related harm?
Gambling is a common feature of the everyday lives of many people across UK, with 57% of adults estimated to gamble to some degree each year. For some people, however, gambling can become a problem which has a major effect on the life of the individual, their family and friends and the communities in which they live, generating gambling-related harms.
Gambling-related harms are the adverse impacts from gambling on the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, communities and society. Since the relaxation of gambling laws under the UK’s 2005 Gambling Act, gambling has become more accessible and is perceived to be a worsening public health problem. It is estimated that between 0.4 and 1.1 per cent of the British population are problem gamblers, while up to a further 4 per cent are estimated to be at-risk gamblers who may also experience gambling-related harms. The harms of gambling stretch beyond the individual with gambling problems to their immediate households and communities. Public Health England’s (PHE) 2021 review of the evidence on gambling harms estimates that in 2019-20, the economic burden of the harms associated with gambling cost at least £1.27 billion in England alone.
Gambling disproportionately affects vulnerable groups in ways that contributes to and exacerbates social inequalities. People with gambling problems often experience a range of health issues and mental illness. PHE’s 2021 review found that gambling can increase the likelihood of some people thinking about, attempting or dying from suicide. Gambling is strongly associated with debt, high levels of alcohol consumption, family and relationship problems, unemployment and homelessness. While young people are the least likely to gamble, they are the most likely group to be problem gamblers and men are more than four times more likely than women to be problem gamblers.
The health and social cost of gambling and the burden of harms that it places on communities and society as well as individuals is considerable. Despite a clear need for a range of harm prevention and reduction strategies and interventions, policy attention has been focused on the small number of problem gamblers. There are very few evaluations of population-level, system-wide interventions.
The Public Health Research Programme wishes to commission research on the effectiveness of interventions to prevent or reduce gambling-related harm. For this call, the Public Health Research Programme is only interested in the evaluation of interventions that operate at a population level rather than an individual level. PHE’s 2021 review shows that regional inequalities are exacerbated by gambling harms. The Public Health Research Programme is keen to commission evaluations of interventions focused on areas with higher socio-economic deprivation.
Research areas of interest could include (but are not limited to):
- Studies researching interventions which aim to inform or educate at a population level.
- Evaluation of interventions which aim to reduce demand for gambling.
- Research into interventions which lessen gambling-related harms.
- Exploration of interventions which aim to reduce the supply of opportunities to gamble.
- Evaluation of interventions which target at-risk population groups.
- Evaluation of service models which support groups or communities directly or indirectly experiencing gambling-related harm.
- Studies investigating interventions to reduce the negative impact on employment and education.
- Research that investigates the impact of gambling advertising in the sporting industry.
- Evaluations of the impact of accessibility through digital means.
- Research that focuses on wider determinants of gambling and associated harms.
- Evaluations of interventions aimed at preventing gambling-related harm at a community or societal level.
- Evaluations of interventions to tackle other addictive behaviours that have been adapted for gambling.
- Retrospective evaluations.
A range of study designs and outcome measures could be used. Researchers will need to identify and justify the most suitable methodological approach. Researchers will also need to specify key outcome measures and specify how these will be measured in the short, medium and long term. Primary outcomes must be health related. For this call, the Public Health Research Programme accepts that there are established links between gambling and health and will therefore accept proxy measures for health outcomes. Researchers will need to clearly justify the link between gambling, health and their chosen outcome. Potential secondary outcomes could include, for example, access to support services, access to treatment services, household finances.
Researchers are encouraged to consider the health economic impacts of interventions. Researchers are encouraged to involve people who are experts by experience in their research and should demonstrate the relevance of their proposed research to evidence users including for example: local authorities, support service providers, families and friends of people who gamble. Researchers might want to consider how they will share their findings with policy makers, service providers, lay and community audiences. This is a rapidly evolving policy field and applicants need to be aware of other studies in this area, relevant strategies and developments. In particular, researchers will need to be aware of The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ work programme on gambling-related harms.
The Public Health Research Programme recognises that funding for interventions comes from a range of sources including interventions that are funded through regulatory settlement and the commercial sector. Applicants need to demonstrate the independence of their research from influence by or interaction with the intervention funder and the gambling industry. Applicants will be expected to undertake a clear assessment of the risks and benefits of any interaction before the project begins, in consultation with the Programme. Applicants will be expected to provide a clear written plan on how interactions will be agreed, managed and monitored and how conflicts of interest will be addressed. The Programme will maintain complete transparency on all aspects of interactions in line with existing policies.
For further information on submitting an application to the PHR Programme, please refer to the supporting information for applicants submitting stage 1 and stage 2 applications.