Impact and Case Studies
Bladder cancer in Scottish Terriers
Our researchers are investigating transitional cell carcinoma, a type of bladder tumour to which Scottish Terriers are particularly vulnerable compared with other breeds.
Over the past six months, the team has been collecting bio samples from Scottish Terriers across the UK, both from dogs affected by transitional cell carcinoma and from healthy controls to support the development of a diagnostic test aimed at earlier detection of the cancer.
Age and dementia inclusive golf
A collaboration between UHI and Royal Dornoch aims to identify golf-related opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing of older adults and people living with dementia. The project will identify approaches to overcome barriers (such as safety concerns and service integration challenges) and lead to greater knowledge about how resources can be developed to promote age and dementia-inclusive golf.
My Melanoma
Despite advances in melanoma care, worldwide doctors diagnose hundreds of new cases of melanoma daily and this is increasing with the 15 to 34 year old age group more vulnerable. Our aim is to develop the first digital platform, creating real data derived from a patient centred collaboration with researchers, medics and scientists, to enable better care and cure in the next 10 years. With the mantra ‘Involve, Research, Care, Cure’ at its core, MyMelanoma is a one-of-a-kind and collaborative research project working with melanoma sufferers to facilitate the most ambitious melanoma patient study ever conducted.
Legacy Case Studies
mPower
A five-year project supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The project was a cross-border collaboration to support older people (age 65+) living with long-term conditions across the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. mPower worked with communities to enable people to take the steps needed to live well, safely and independently in their own homes by self-managing their own health and care in the community. UHI evaluated the project against its intended outcomes, using a mixed-methods approach.
Football fans in training
Following a cardiac event, patients are often required to make significant changes to their lifestyles to reduce the risk of recurrence and improve their recovery, however many patients struggle to do this. The NHS offers support through cardiac rehabilitation (CR) classes, but UK level data suggests that about 50% of patients who are eligible for CR take it up, and of those almost a quarter do not complete the programme. Given the evidence for the clinical effectiveness of CR NHS Highland wanted to explore different ways and contexts for delivering CR. The Football Fans in Training (FFIT) programme is a healthy living and weight loss programme that taps the appeal of professional football clubs to engage participants in weight loss. FFIT has been extensively evaluated and demonstrated to be effective with positive results for weight loss, physical activity, and diet.
Cianoalgae
Antioxidant extracts from micro-algae for cardiometabolic health: an in vitro pilot study. A collaboration between UHI and Cianoalgae to test the ability of four microalgal extracts provided by Cianoalgae to protect the cells that line our blood vessels via an antioxidant effect.
Active Health Linkworkers
The value of ‘social prescribing’ of non-clinical based health interventions is increasingly recognised as a way of benefiting patients and reducing the burden on primary care professionals. Velocity’s Active Health Linkworker programme aims to increase physical activity and active travel amongst patients from Highland GP practices. By employing Linkworkers it is focussed on helping to motivate and engage patients who could potentially benefit from increasing their levels of physical activity.
