Six years of applied research, shaped by the people it serves
From 2020 to 2026, the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley (ARC OxTV) brought together universities, NHS trusts, local authorities, charities, and communities to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in health and social care.
Hosted by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and led from the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, the ARC worked across the Thames Valley and beyond – always starting from the same question: what do patients, communities, and the professionals who serve them actually need?
That question turned out to be prophetic. When Lord Darzi's independent investigation laid bare the state of the NHS in 2024, and when the 10 Year Health Plan set out its vision for shifting care from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, much of what it called for was already underway in ARC OxTV's research programmes. Not because we anticipated the policy, but because we worked alongside the people living with the problems the policy would eventually have to address. Some of those people went on to lead the research themselves.
The case studies in this collection reflect the range and reach of that work – not just the research findings, but the infrastructure, training, and public partnerships that made them possible. Some describe research that has already changed clinical practice or shaped national guidelines. Others present tools, interventions, or evidence still finding their way into routine care. Some capture how the ARC built research capacity in the region or transformed the way patients and the public shaped its priorities.
All of it matters – and all of it is here so that commissioners, clinicians, researchers, funders, and policymakers can find it, build on it, and put it to use.
This is a working collection. It will grow as further case studies are added, and we will continue to update these pages as the impact of ARC OxTV's research develops beyond the programme's formal end.
NHS 10 Year Health Plan For England: Three Shifts
From hospital to community
Research that moves care closer to home – into care homes, community settings, and local authority services. These case studies cover frailty, dementia, rehabilitation, safeguarding, and commissioning across the Thames Valley.
From analogue to digital
Digital tools that extend the reach of overstretched services – from apps that support weight loss without clinician input to platforms that put recovery measurement in patients' hands.
From sickness to prevention
Identifying risk earlier, intervening sooner, and building the evidence for prevention – across childhood obesity, youth mental health, falls in older adults, and children's social care.
Shaped by patients and the public
The ARC embedded public involvement across its research – from people who shaped priorities to those who led studies themselves.
Building research capacity
Embedding research skills and infrastructure where they're needed most – in local authorities, NHS services, and community organisations across the Thames Valley.
Highlights
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.
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.
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.
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.
All case studies
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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.
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Building a new generation of dementia researchers – from health economics to film
The DEM-COMM fellowship programme built a national community of early-career dementia researchers across health economics, data science, and clinical medicine – producing publications, independent fellowships, and new approaches from AI to film.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Evaluating innovation in adult social care
ARC OxTV researchers partnered with Oxfordshire County Council to evaluate digital technologies in care homes – from virtual reality for wellbeing to sensor-based falls detection – generating practical lessons for social care innovation.
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Evaluating integrated neighbourhood teams: building the evidence commissioners need
ARC OxTV researchers are evaluating whether integrated neighbourhood teams for frailty reduce hospital stays and costs across Oxfordshire, building the evidence commissioners need to make confident investment decisions.
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From clinical trial to community centre: getting proven rehabilitation into NHS practice
ARC OxTV researchers developed online training and digital tools to get proven rehabilitation programmes for rheumatoid arthritis, spinal stenosis, and shoulder problems into NHS practice faster – cutting appointments and reaching underserved communities.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Improving health and care for physically unwell care home residents
When care home residents become physically unwell, hospital admission is still the default – despite the harm it can cause. This research reveals what needs to change and where Hospital at Home is already working.
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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.
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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.
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Making quality of life measures work for everyone in mental health services
The NHS mandates a quality of life measure in community mental health services – but it doesn't work for people with learning disabilities. ARC OxTV researchers are co-producing an inclusive alternative ahead of universal outcome collection in 2029.
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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.
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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.
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Most NHS clinicians never get to test their best ideas – these ones did
ARC OxTV's research internships and development awards gave frontline NHS clinicians the protected time and support to turn clinical questions into published research, new guidelines, and research careers.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Self-harm hidden in clinical notes: can AI find it without the data leaving the NHS?
An AI model running entirely within NHS infrastructure accurately identified self-harm in mental health clinical notes – without sending patient data to external servers. Privacy and performance need not be a trade-off.
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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.
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The NHS relies on Indian and Filipino staff – but does its mental health support work for them?
The BRIGHTNESS study asked Indian and Filipino health and social care workers in England what helps or hinders them in seeking mental health support – and produced 12 practical recommendations for policymakers and decision-makers.
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Transforming care planning for older adults in English care homes
Nearly 280,000 people in English care homes deserve person-centred care planning. ARC OxTV's inter-ARC research revealed why practice falls short – and produced free, co-designed tools now being used by care homes across England.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.