Involvement at the Institute
June 2026
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Welcome to another update from Involvement at the Institute of Mental Health. We appreciate you choosing to stay in touch with us and we hope you find this update interesting and useful.
For anyone who knows me quite well, you will know I spend a great deal of my spare time outdoors. I’m very fortunate to live in a place where the countryside is only 10 minutes away by car. I spend a lot of time walking and wandering around the old Sherwood Forests (what’s left) and it really is a privilege to see the scenery change through the seasons.
I’ve recently been pulled in by the new bird identification app called Merlin, which enables you to use your phone to listen in the moment and identifies the bird you are hearing. It even lets you go into detail about the birds, understand more about them and gives you an opportunity to learn more about birds in your area. It truly is a fantastic, free app (if you like birds and the outdoors that is) and it’s a wonderful example of when institutions of great knowledge (Cornell University) come together with participatory and citizen science, computer sciences and data visualisations. Cornell states that key partners in much of their research are the many thousands of people who volunteer for our participatory-science projects and it’s clear they have built their knowledge with their citizens.
If this interests you and you like the idea of knowing what bird sings when and how, do go and have a look at the Merlin app and the work of Cornell Lab.
Maybe you already have the Merlin app and are enjoying using it out in the wild? I would love to hear your thoughts if you’re already using it. It really does give me a grounding when I’m out and about and want to enjoy my surroundings with a bit of wildlife knowledge.
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Image source: Great tit, Bob Coyle via The Wildlife Trust |
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In our latest edition of our newsletter, we have some opportunities to participate in research, some Health Promotion and Education Masterclasses you might want to sign up to and also a Spotlight on Carers and Cochrane Reviews. I hope you enjoy it and if you have comments or ideas for future editions, please get in touch.
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Opportunity to participate in exploratory research looking at vagus nerve stimulation and how it can influence the gut brain axis, emotional wellbeing and motivation
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James Hoogstraten is conducting a Master level research project which is examining the use of ZenBud ultrasound-based technology and its potential to support wellbeing and mood-related symptoms in individuals. The team are looking for people interested in participating. The team are looking specifically for people who may experience low mood or symptoms associated with depression but to be without other diagnoses such as a physical or mental health condition.
I have attached the teams flyer for this project and if you would like to know more or are interested in participating you can contact the team directly by emailing James Hoogstraten
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Public Involvement and Engagement at the Institute of Mental Health
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Colleagues from the University of Nottingham are running an Institute of Health Promotion and Education (IHPE) Masterclass series of online webinars and you are invited to attend. There are two remaining free, expert-led online sessions designed around topics of interest and looking at developments in public health, digital innovation, and health promotion. Sessions will be hosted by Professor Holly Blake and you can see the subjects they will be discussing, dates and how to book for each session below:
Online Peer Support for People Living with Long-Term Conditions
Date: Tuesday 21 July 2026
Time: 10am–11am
Advancing Health and Wellbeing Through Robotics and Emerging Technologies
Date: Tuesday 20 October 2026
Time: 10am–11am
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Cochrane is a global, independent non-profit network of health researchers, professionals, and patients. Cochrane is best known for producing systematic reviews. Systematic reviews are comprehensive summaries of groups of medical research. This is a way of combining the results of multiple clinical trials to provide reliable evidence.
As part of the global work of Cochrane, there are a number of ways to involve patients, members of the public and clinicians and here are some of the things they offer and ask for from patients, carers and members of the public. If you’re looking to expand your curiosity and would like to see if any of their activities are of interest to you, take a look online and I have linked to the relevant pages on the Cochrane website.
Volunteer hub – Cochrane Engage is a volunteer hub that connects people to opportunities to get involved in their work. You can search and browse for tasks and activities that match your interest and expertise. This might be anything from helping set priorities for research topics through to direct involvement in reviews, sharing results and project level requests. Look at the Cochrane Engage pages.
Citizen science space – Cochrane Crowd is a citizen science platform to identify research needed to produce high quality and up to date health evidence. You can volunteer for tasks, carry out activities and access training to help. No experience necessary and if you sign up and it’s not for you, that’s ok! Join the citizen science crowd on their website.
Other activities with Cochrane include the Patient and Public Network Executive, alongside volunteer translators, and joining an author team (opportunities shared through Engage) you can even learn how to become a reviewer for Cochrane and sign up to learning and opportunities – including free training to learn more about Cohrane.
We know research and often the background research spaces can feel like a mystery to people who don’t work in it so we will continue to work to share more background information about research, how it’s managed, funded and supported in future editions. Please get in touch and ask questions, we will happily find and publish answers!
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Image source: Carers Roadshow |
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Carers
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Last week saw many people celebrating Carers Week. The purpose of Carers Week is an opportunity to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate carers everyone and the (often unseen) work of carers everywhere.
Well, here at the IMH we know many of the people we work with are carers and whilst we hope you feel valued throughout the year, we wanted to share some events and activities coming up that might interest you.
Here in Nottinghamshire, there are Carers Roadshows taking place throughout the year. This is a place where you can find information, support, people who get you and a cup of tea and a chat. We have attached the flyer for the 2026 Carers Roadshows and there are 12 more sessions in 2026. If you would like to know more about these session then do get in touch with the organisers using by email.
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Supporting Young Carers Event
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On Wednesday 1st July 2026 there will be a free to attend event taking place at the Jubilee Campus, University of Nottingham. This event is an opportunity to learn how supporting young carers can be done well. The session is designed around practical actions you can apply to support young carers and it is featuring lived experiences of young carers, offering insight, interactive workshops and nationally recognised expertise in this area. If you know or support young carers, you are yourself a young carer or you work in health, education and social care then please do look at the attached flyer or sign up to attend the event on Eventbrite.
The event is taking place from 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm – to increase the amount of people able to attend the event away from daytime commitments.
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As we head towards the end of June, things traditionally quieten down for us during the academic summer months, but I will be here in the background and I’m always happy for a catch up, to answer any questions and even try to seek out opportunities so feel free to get in touch. It is always lovely to hear from you.
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