From sickness to prevention
Intervening earlier costs less and achieves more, but the NHS still spends the vast majority of its budget treating illness after it develops. The ARC built the evidence base for earlier action – quantifying the costs of inaction, identifying where risk concentrates, and developing tools that catch problems before they escalate across childhood obesity, youth mental health, falls prevention, and children's social care.
Healthcare AI has a trust problem – and patients with complex conditions are paying the price
A new end-to-end ecosystem for clinical AI – from data preparation to implementation – offers the NHS a reproducible blueprint for deploying trustworthy, human-centred tools for patients with multiple long-term conditions.
When hospital is the problem: building the economic case for treating eating disorders at home
Hospital admission for adolescent eating disorders can disrupt recovery. ARC OxTV is building the economic evidence for Hospital at Home – an intensive community-based alternative developed in the Thames Valley.
England expanded children's mental health services – but disadvantaged young people are still being turned away
Analysis of nearly 33,000 pupils in the OxWell Student Survey reveals that children from disadvantaged and minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be denied mental health support and less likely to find it helpful.
Improving support for adolescents living with excess weight
One in three UK adolescents is above a healthy weight, but current services aren't meeting their needs. This ARC OxTV research reveals what young people actually want from weight support – and how services are starting to change.
OxWell Student Survey: what 170,000 young people told us about their mental health
The OxWell Student Survey has gathered responses from over 170,000 young people across England since 2019. Its data platform returns findings directly to schools and local authorities, driving changes to mental health support, school policies, and commissioning decisions.
ARTEMIS: a self-managed app that helps adults lose weight – without clinician input
The ARTEMIS app helped adults lose weight without any clinician input – and more than doubled the odds of clinically meaningful weight loss. A large trial shows it works safely, equitably, and at minimal cost.
Proving what works: how evaluation shaped a national programme
ARC OxTV's evaluation of England's digital weight management programme proved it cost-effective and equitable – directly influencing the 10 Year Health Plan commitment to double referrals, reaching 125,000 more people annually.
Keeping families together safely: six years of evidence on safeguarding reform
Six years of evidence on Oxfordshire's whole-family safeguarding reform. Children experienced fewer intensive interventions and shorter time in services – but only when key elements were delivered consistently. What worked, what didn't, and what comes next.
Helping anxious children by empowering their parents
A digital programme empowering parents to treat child anxiety reduced clinician time by 40% with equivalent outcomes. Now NICE-recommended and used by over 1,000 families, it is rolling out across the NHS and internationally.
Counting the cost of childhood excess weight
New research quantifies the NHS costs of childhood overweight and obesity at £270 million per year and identifies critical windows for early intervention – strengthening the economic case for prevention in England.
Helping the Thames Valley ICB spend £5.6 billion more wisely
Oxford researchers are working with Thames Valley ICB leaders to build evidence-based tools for commissioning decisions – helping allocate a £5.6 billion health budget more effectively for 2.5 million people.
Turning data into decisions: targeting early help for vulnerable families in Oxfordshire
How Oxfordshire County Council and University of Oxford researchers turned routine safeguarding data into decision-ready insight – revealing where need concentrates, what drives escalation, and how to target Family Hubs and early help more effectively.
What happens when a local authority gets its own research lead
How a dedicated research role within Oxfordshire County Council – supported by ARC OxTV – built governance, workforce skills, practitioner funding, and university partnerships to embed evidence-based practice across children's and adults' social care.
Equal Start Oxford: trusted advocates bridging the gap for migrant mothers
Equal Start Oxford trains local women as maternity advocates to support migrant mothers in East Oxford through pregnancy and early parenthood – bridging language, cultural, and access barriers that statutory services alone cannot reach. Now featured in national NHS England guidance.
Music, art, and drama as mental health support for Black young people
BLACK-ARTS explored whether creative arts therapies – music, drama, visual art – can provide mental health support that works better for Black young people in England. Findings from NHS focus groups, national survey data, a global meta-analysis, and a community music pilot point to a promising alternative to standard talking therapies.
Mapping where children's social care falls short – and where to act first
Researchers worked with Oxfordshire County Council to map geographic inequalities in children's social care referrals and identify the factors that drive escalation – evidence now shaping where the county locates its new Family Hubs.
Testing Moodscope in community support settings
A public research partner and an Oxford academic tested Moodscope cards as an accessible, engaging alternative to standard questionnaires – helping community organisations supporting families affected by parental imprisonment demonstrate their impact.
What memory clinics miss – and why it matters for people waiting for answers
Research from the Oxford Brain Health Clinic reveals that 84% of memory clinic patients experience neuropsychiatric symptoms at assessment – including those without a dementia diagnosis. The findings highlight substantial unmet needs in current memory services.
Preventing falls and improving mobility in older adults
ARC OxTV research followed 5,400 older adults to develop a tool for spotting mobility decline early, proved that group rehabilitation improves mobility, and created free NHS training resources that support a shift towards community-based falls prevention.
Measuring what matters in forensic mental health – with patients, not just about them
The FORUM gives forensic mental health patients a structured voice in their own care. Developed and digitised with ARC OxTV support, it is now licensed by 20 NHS Trusts and four international organisations.