£2million to improve healthcare access and pathways for people living with arthritis

We're excited to announce our that our new Living Well funding call is now open for applications!  

Versus Arthritis are planning to invest around £2 million in projects which address the unmet needs within healthcare access and pathways for people with arthritis. 

Why are we investing in this research area?  

It is important to find other ways to help people live better with their condition right now, with support from their local communities. We want more people to understand what they can do to help those with arthritis. This includes arming health services, local communities, schools, and employers with tools to enable people with arthritis to be active members of their communities.  

Read more about our research strategy and our living well priority area here: Our Better Lives Today, Better Lives Tomorrow Research Strategy 2022-2026. 

Who can apply for this funding?

We encourage diverse teams with varied career backgrounds to apply, capable of advancing research into implementation and scaling-up support.  

It is our belief that a multidisciplinary research team will facilitate breakthroughs and foster sustainable positive change for those living with arthritis.  

What types of research are we looking to fund?

At Versus Arthritis, we want everyone to be able to access evidence-based integrated services across clinical and community settings for people with arthritis with. Our focus includes facilitating access for disadvantaged communities and ensuring smooth transitions from pediatric to adult care.

Additionally, we want to see research interventions that enhance communication between arthritis patients and healthcare providers, supported by decision aids, and advocate for informed, person-centered care grounded in robust health data and knowledge. Overall, this funding call aims to address the need to improve health service access and pathways for people living with arthritis. 

We particularly welcome applications addressing the following:  

• Improving health care service access – with a particular focus on developing service delivery for communities with less access to health care services, including innovative ways of enabling access to health care. This could include novel strategies for accessing or providing evidence for the effectiveness of existing access models.
• Improving health care service pathways – aiming to understand the current experience from diagnosis to treatment/management and follow-up, to identify what good referral pathways should look like, and ways to improve and deliver coordinated/joined-up care.  A particular focus on osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and gout (not necessarily in the same proposal). 

This call is OPEN, Apply here: Types of grants | Applying, guidance and funding (versusarthritis.org) 

Other Funding for Living Well projects  

Sitting alongside the Living Well 2025 call is our Oliver Bird Fund Round 3 call in Partnership with the Nuffield Foundation, which also aligns with our Living Well Priority Area.  

While Living Well 2025 focuses on improving access and delivery of health services delivered by health care professionals, the Oliver Bird Fund seeks to support people outside of the healthcare system and addresses the social and economic wellbeing of people living with musculoskeletal conditions.  

If you would like to understand more about which funding call better suits your project, visit our funding calls page here: Types of grants | Applying, guidance and funding (versusarthritis.org)