IMPACT

IMPACT stands for Innovative Management, Prevention And Care for long Term conditions.

Developing bespoke, innovative, and evidence-based interventions to support people living with, or at risk of, long-term conditions which are ready for research or implementation in the real world.

Who we are

The IMPACT team is led by Vicki Johnson, Lead Research Associate for Complex Interventions, and Dr Michelle Hadjiconstantinou, Lead Chartered Psychologist and Behavioural Scientist, based within the LDC at Leicester General Hospital.

We pride ourselves on our shared vision and work collaboratively to utilise our wide range of multidisciplinary skills and experience. We constantly learn and develop, working closely with other teams within LDC and external partners to ensure a high standard.

A group of nine women standing in a row, smiling, in a brightly lit room with white walls.

What we do

Process diagram with five colored arrows labeled "Develop," "Deliver," "Train," "Evaluate," "Implement."

  • Our multidisciplinary team develops and refines structured self-management education and lifestyle programmes for people with or at risk of long-term conditions. Our evidence-based in-person, virtual or digital interventions use psychological theories to support behaviour change. Guided by NICE standards, our interventions include clear aims, learning objectives and materials, with comprehensive curriculums for interventions delivered by trained facilitators.

    We involve people with lived experience and the public in shaping our programmes to meet their needs and consider health literacy to support individuals in managing their long-term conditions.

    We also tailor our interventions to under-represented populations, including, for example, ethnic minority groups, people with intellectual disabilities, and people with mental ill-health.

  • We deliver structured education or lifestyle programmes in both group and one-to-one formats (face-to-face or virtually), in research and real-world settings.

  • To ensure consistent and effective delivery of our programmes, we develop and deliver bespoke training and support for facilitators. This includes mentorship and sharing good practice events. Within our national programmes, we also offer quality assurance and accreditation.

  • We evaluate the effectiveness of self-management and lifestyle interventions through mixed-methods and seek participant and facilitator feedback.

    Within research, we develop and utilise bespoke tools to measure Intervention Fidelity.

  • We always have an eye on implementing our programmes in the real world to reduce the translational gap. We work closely with LDC’s implementation team to do this and ensure ongoing impact. A key part of implementation is to ensure high quality assurance across our programmes.

Person participating in a video call, with one monitor displaying a presentation of roast beef meals and another showing the video chat participants.

Our programmes

The IMPACT team leads a range of innovative programmes designed to make a tangible difference in care for diabetes and other long-term conditions: 

Stylized "M3" logo on dark blue background

  • M3 is a new approach to care specifically tailored to young adults living with early-onset type 2 diabetes.

  • We worked with public contributors, LDC researchers, clinicians, EDEN team and external collaborators to develop the M3 programme. More specifically, we developed training for healthcare professionals to deliver and work within the M3 approach, which is underpinned by the following concepts and person-centered approaches: shared decision-making, minimally disruptive medicine, and consultation skills.  To support the delivery of holistic consultations, our team also adapted ‘SystmOne’ and ‘Airmid’ clinical systems template, and a bespoke digital-based self-management programme for early onset type 2 diabetes (myDESMOND) We have also developed bespoke intervention fidelity tools to measure intervention fidelity.

  • For further information about M3, visit: www.m3study.org.uk

"CREATE" text on a purple background

  • The CREATE project adopted a Chronic Care and Collaborative Model to improve health outcomes and risk factor control for adults with cardiometabolic disease in low- middle- income countries. This global health project was delivered in collaboration with partners in Ghana, Kenya, and Mozambique. The intervention includes the following components: (i) a self-management education (SME) programme; (ii) a training package for educators to deliver the SME; (iii) a training package to upskill Health Care Providers and community champions in managing and raising awareness of cardiometabolic diseases; (iv) a decision-making tool to initiate the implementation of a data registry; and (v) a streamlined referral pathway for Cardiometabolic disease.

  • We worked with stakeholders in Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique to identify key barriers to cardiometabolic care and to adapt the SME, utilising our DESMOND programme for Type 2 Diabetes. We also developed and delivered the training package for educators to deliver the SME programme.

  • For further information about CREATE, visit: www.createafrica.org.uk

"iCan Live Well with Diabetes" text in white on a blue background.

  • iCAN Live Well with Type 2 diabetes is a family, group-based self-management education programme for children and young people (<18years) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

  • We developed a four-session face-to-face lifestyle programme. iCAN supports young people and their families to increase their knowledge, skills, and confidence to engage in self-management behaviours. Young people are encouraged to make achievable plans to meet personal goals and opportunities for physical activity are embedded within each session.


    This programme was later adapted as a prevention programme for children and young people living with obesity and other long-term conditions (iCAN Live Healthily). iCAN Live Healthily is a six-session programme which can be delivered face-to-face or virtually and was delivered within the new Complications from Excess Weight (CEW) service in Nottingham and Leicester, who work closely with the IMPACT team.

Logo with the text 'Mi Foot' and a stylized footprint design on a purple background.

  • MiFoot is a complex intervention for adults with type 2 diabetes with current or previous diabetes-related foot ulcer condition, consisting of an (i) individualised appointment; (ii) group-based self-management education (SME) sessions delivered in-person and virtually, with a physical activity element; and (iii) a digital SME

  • We collaborated with LDC’s EDEN education team, clinicians, and public contributors to develop the complex intervention. This also included developing and delivering training for healthcare professionals delivering the research intervention. We developed bespoke intervention fidelity tools to measure intervention fidelity.

  • For further information about MiFoot, visit: www.mifoot.org.uk. Participant feedback from the trial has been positive and can be seen on the website.

"SHIFT" text with stylized driver icon on blue background.

  • This Structured Health Intervention for Truckers (SHIFT) specifically promotes healthy lifestyle behaviours in lorry drivers and includes health assessments, workshops, workplace challenges and a ‘cab workout’.

  • We developed the SHIFT intervention, delivered it as part of a feasibility study, and also trained staff to deliver SHIFT in their workplace. We have also developed ‘short SHIFT’, which is a one hour, bite-size taster session of the intervention to incorporate into mandatory lorry driver training (CPC).

  • For further information about SHIFT visit HERE

Orange background with "Intellectual Disabilities" in white text and a white rectangle with the word "Desmond".

  • DESMOND-ID is an adaptation of our nationally implemented DESMOND type 2 diabetes self-management education programme, to better support adults with intellectual disabilities and their support worker or family member. DESMOND-ID is being evaluated as part of a large study being led by our partners at University of Ulster. Our Leicester team won an Inclusion Award in recognition of this work. The programme includes seven weekly sessions, with the first session designed specifically for support workers or family members. Two further sessions at one and three months after the weekly sessions are also delivered, to provide longer term support.

  • Our team developed and refined the SME programme and developed and delivered training to the intervention delivery team across the UK. In addition, we developed bespoke intervention fidelity tools to measure intervention fidelity.

Feedback from partner organisations

  • “The IMPACT team at LDC has been instrumental in developing and delivering a bespoke training programme for the DIAMONDS Research Programme. Our combined expertise has allowed us to produce a training package and intervention materials for Coaches to work with individuals who have type 2 diabetes and severe mental illness. “Feasibility testing has confirmed the acceptability of the training, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the IMPACT team for the DIAMONDS randomised control trial, which will test the clinical and cost effectiveness of our intervention. “In addition, the IMPACT team are leading the intervention fidelity assessment for the DIAMONDS Programme which will allow an in-depth interpretation of the trial findings in context.”

    Jennifer Brown, DIAMONDS Programme Manager, Research Fellow, Mental Health and Addiction Research Group, Department of Health Sciences. Collaborating with the IMPACT team for the DIAMONDS research programme:

  • “We have been working with the Leicester Diabetes Centre IMPACT team to develop the ‘iCAN live healthily’ structured education programme for the CEW clinics (complications due to excess weight clinic) for children and young people living with severe obesity. The team have been knowledgeable, helpful, prompt, and responsive to requests and it has been a pleasure to work with them. The first iteration of the programme has been delivered to a group of 10-12 young people, and we are looking forward to working with the iCAN team to amend the programme further following feedback from the young people and health care professionals.”

    Dr Sachdev and Dr Subbarayan, Consultants in Paediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology, CEW clinic Leads, East Midlands. Collaborating with the IMPACT team for the iCAN programme

  • “Working in close partnership with the Leicester Diabetes Centre has enabled Leicester City in the Community to make a positive contribution towards shared objectives of improving the physical and mental health of residents across the city. The staff team has a friendly and proactive approach, which has enabled a number of pilot projects to be developed and upscaled, including Healthy Goals and United Leicester. The team’s continuing professional development and training is also excellent, enabling our coaches to be upskilled and deliver health interventions in areas of highest need within the city.”

    Matt Bray – Health & Well-Being Manager, Leicester City in the Community (LCitC). Collaborating with the IMPACT team for United Leicester project:

Get in touch with the IMPACT team

We are always keen to develop new partnerships and collaborations. If you need assistance in developing and/or delivering an intervention or training, or intervention fidelity measuring, then please contact us at vicki.johnson14@nhs.net and we can discuss this further.