Introduction
The aim of the HTA Programme is to ensure that high quality research information on the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests are produced in the most efficient way for those who plan, provide or receive care from NHS and social care services. The commissioned workstream invites applications in response to calls for research on specific questions which have been identified and prioritised for their importance to the NHS, patients and social care.
Please not that this is a brief of broader scope from which the programme is interested in potentially funding more than one proposal.
The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme is inviting applications for studies that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of women. This could include, but is not limited to, trials investigating conditions that only affect women, or conditions that affect both men and women but may affect women either disproportionately or in a different way.
In August 2022, the previous Government laid out its policy paper on Women’s Health Strategy for England. Women make up 51% of the population, live longer, and spend a greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability compared to men.
However, historically the health and care system has been established using a ‘male as default’ approach, leading to gaps in our data and evidence base. This means that not enough is known about conditions that only affect women, for example menopause, endometriosis or other gynaecological conditions. It has also meant that not enough is known about how conditions that affect both men and women impact them in different ways.
Over the last year, and in line with research recommendations identified through the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy in August 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has advertised a number of calls to strengthen the evidence base around areas of specific relevance to the health and wellbeing of women. This is an area of continuing priority; the HTA programme are therefore inviting applications for studies to further strengthen this evidence base, building on the existing NIHR portfolio while meeting the priority areas as set out by the Women’s Health Strategy.
Call scope
We are interested in proposals for the evaluation of interventions which aim to improve the health and wellbeing of women. All proposals submitted must describe an evaluation of an intervention or technology which falls within the scope of the HTA programme. Applicants should clearly define and justify their choice of patient group, study design and outcome measures, and explain how the research will fit into the remit of the HTA programme. Primary research (including randomised and observational studies) and evidence syntheses will be considered.
Under this call, the HTA programme is interested in all conditions and areas of research that focus on improving the health and wellbeing of women. Applications are particularly encouraged in the following areas:
- Areas of research within which women have been historically under-represented.
- Topics that are under-represented in the HTA portfolio (applicants can undertake searches of the funded portfolio on the NIHR Funding and Awards website).
- Research into conditions that affect both men and women – but may affect women either disproportionately or in a different way.
- Rare diseases that affect women.
Out of scope
Applications seeking to tackle maternity disparities should instead refer to the NIHR Challenge – Maternity Inequalities.
Studies investigating the efficacy of interventions, and those that are hypothesis-testing mechanistic studies, may be more suited to the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme. A parallel EME call on improving the health and wellbeing of women is also currently open.
Non-NHS public health interventions at a population or group level may be more suited to the Public Health Research (PHR) programme. Women’s health is an area of continued research interest for the PHR Programme.
Studies looking to provide evidence to improve the quality, accessibility and organisation of health and social care services may be more suited to the Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme (HSDR).
Making an application
If you would like to apply for this funding opportunity, you can begin your application via the funding opportunity page.
Your application must be submitted online no later than 1pm on the 8th January 2025. Applications will be considered by the HTA Funding Committee at its meeting in March 2025.
Guidance notes and supporting information for HTA Programme applications are available
Shortlisted Stage 1 applicants will be given eight weeks to submit a Stage 2 application. The Stage 2 application will be considered at the Funding Committee in July 2025.
For commissioned topics, the Programme strongly discourages the practice of the same co-applicant joining more than one competing team, other than in unusual circumstances (for example, a lead from a named charity or a unique national expert in a condition).
For such exceptions, each application needs to state the case as to why the same person is included. The shared co-applicant should not divulge application details between teams, and both teams should acknowledge in their application that they are aware of the situation, and that study details have not been shared.
Should you have any queries please contact htagb@nihr.ac.uk