CHE joins NIHR Work and Health Research Showcase in Leeds

News

Posted on Tuesday 16 September 2025

Members of the Support2Work project team joined national award recipients in Leeds to share research, connect with policymakers and explore future collaborations in work and health.

Four members of the Support2Work project stand in front of a presentation, smiling. — Tracy Dancer (Support2Work Project Manager), Emily Allen (Senior Programme Manager at NIHR), Professor Rowena Jacobs (Support2Work Project Lead and Deputy Head of CHE), and Dr Alena Podaneva (CHE Research Fellow).

Four members of the Support2Work project team recently attended the first NIHR Work and Health Research Award Showcase, held at DHSC’s Quarry House in Leeds on Thursday, 11 September 2025.

Support2Work is a three-year NIHR research project sponsored by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust and led by Professor Rowena Jacobs from the Centre for Health Economics (CHE) at the University of York.

The Support2Work project aims to assess whether seeing an Employment Adviser within the NHS Talking Therapy service improves people’s mental health and work-related outcomes, such as employment, return to work or productivity. This project also seeks to understand whether these outcomes differ between different socio-economic groups, how these outcomes are brought about and whether overall the Employment Adviser service offers value for money. A further question investigates whether seeing an Employment Adviser helps reduce secondary healthcare costs to the NHS.

The showcase brought together the first cohort of NIHR Work and Health Research Award recipients to share their projects, exchange insights, and connect with policymakers and stakeholders including UK’s the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions, NHS England and NIHR. Discussions focused on measuring the impact of the initiative, strengthening communication with policy, and building a lasting community of practice in the field of work and health.

Several members of the Support2Work team, including Professor Rowena Jacobs (CHE) , Annie Irvine (School for Business and Society), Alena Podaneva (CHE) and Tracy Dancer (CHE), shared details of their project and engaged with other award recipients, including the WISHES Project, The SHINE Study and Creating Healthy Jobs.

Professor Rowena Jacobs, Support2Work Project Lead and Deputy Head of CHE said: "It was a really nice opportunity to meet with the other research teams under the Work and Health funding umbrella. This is clearly an area which is of really high policy priority. This was evidenced by the number of high level policymakers we had the opportunity to listen to and interact with on the day which was really great!"

Stay up to date with Support2Work by following the project on LinkedIn.