The 'Mental health prEvention and promotioN in general practice settings: A feasibility stuDy', or ‘The MEND Study’ for short, is a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) funded study programme (Grant Reference Number NIHR204332) and sponsored by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT-RD23002).
The study was funded for 18 months between March 2023 and October 2024, and the study team are now building up to a larger efficacy trial. Based in the North West of England, the study was conducted at two sites in Burnley: Pendle West Primary Care Network (PCN), a collection of seven GP practices and the second was Burnley East PCN, a collection of six GP practices.
The research was sponsored by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust’s Research and Development team.
The main aim of the MEND research was to evaluate the feasibility of recruiting general practice patients into a randomised feasibility study. Participants received either mental health treatment as usual (TAU) or a brief, psychologically-informed intervention for preventing the deterioration of mental health and promoting emotional wellbeing, in addition to TAU.
The study also collected information on the parameters required to inform a subsequent, larger, randomised controlled trial (RCT) that will evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the intervention.
