The MPS Foundation is inviting healthcare professionals to register their interest and submit proposals for research grants focusing on patient safety and the wellbeing of healthcare professionals and teams, both medical and dental.
Applications for the grants – which are worth £5,000 to £200,000, or equivalent in local currency, depending on the scale, focus and duration of the proposal – are open to both Medical Protection Society members and non-members from countries including the UK and Ireland.
To be eligible, the research projects must be academically robust, evidence-based and address the MPS Foundation’s key research priorities, including:
- The impact of human factors on patient safety, outcomes and risk
- The impact of processes and delivery modes on patient safety, outcomes and risk
- The personal and professional wellbeing of healthcare professionals and teams
- The impact of digital integration and technology on patient safety, outcomes and risk
- The impact of the effectiveness of teaching and learning innovations upon patient safety, outcomes and risk.
Dr Graham Stokes, MPS Foundation chair, said: ‘We are delighted to launch our third grant programme to support research projects on patient safety and the wellbeing of healthcare professionals. Funding for research in this area has been limited but our grant programmes have been changing that. Projects that we have supported in previous years have shown great success in promoting best practise and wellbeing across several countries.‘
He added: ‘Our aim is simple: to fund research that improves safety for patients and the wellbeing of healthcare teams.
‘If you have a research project that you think is suitable, register your interest and join our growing community of grant recipients. I strongly encourage healthcare professionals to consider applying for support whatever the scale of the proposal and to make the most of the additional resources available to support applicants this year.’
Applicants can register interest for the grants and apply via the MPS Foundation online grant portal, which also includes a guide for applicants, frequently asked questions and tips on creating a good application.
Calls for expressions of interest are open until 5pm BST on 3 May 2024.
Projects awarded MPS Foundation funding in 2023 included a study aimed at improving safety in gastrointestinal endoscopy, research examining the effects of patient suicide on clinicians, and a project to better understand the role patients’ relatives play in ICU decisions and how the Mental Capacity Act can lead to better outcomes for patients, families and healthcare professionals.
The MPS Foundation is part of the Medical Protection Society – an organisation that aims to protect and support the professional interests of more than 300,000 doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals across the UK, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Caribbean and Bermuda.
