The GLiMHR Project has now completed its core aim of identifying priorities for future mental health research in Lincolnshire. Through close collaboration with local patients, caregivers, professionals, and communities, we have co-produced a research agenda that reflects the specific mental health needs and strengths of the region.
Lincolnshire continues to face significant mental health challenges – particularly in its rural and coastal areas, where suicide rates are among the highest in the Midlands. Areas such as Mablethorpe and Louth experience significant mental health challenges, reflected in the high prevalence of depression and antidepressant prescribing.
Contributing factors include socioeconomic disadvantage, high unemployment, geographic isolation, and limited access to early support. Despite these challenges, Lincolnshire has historically been underserved in terms of mental health research investment and participation. The GLiMHR Project was designed to help address this gap, laying the foundation for a Lincolnshire-based Mental Health Research Group (MHRG) aligned with the NIHR’s ambition to direct research into areas of highest need.
Although our work focussed on Lincolnshire, the insights we have gathered have wider relevance to other rural and coastal communities across the UK. Our collaborative, inclusive approach has explored the psychological, social, geographic, and systemic factors shaping mental health in these settings – and has resulted in a clear, locally grounded research agenda.
We are now in the dissemination phase. Findings from the GLiMHR Project are being shared with local stakeholders, national partners, and research funders to ensure they inform future research, policy, and practice.
