Exploring factors that influence the uptake of rubella immunisation in ethnic minority groups (The Rubella Immunisation Project)

This project was established to develop strategies to support primary care staff to improve the service that is offered to ethnic minority groups who are particularly vulnerable to rubella infection and to encourage them to take up the MMR immunisation

A 90 per cent level of uptake of the MMR vaccination will achieve herd immunity in the UK. (This is the level of coverage that you need in a population to prevent the illness from occurring.) It will prevent school-age children from passing German measles (rubella) on to pregnant women and will reduce the number of babies born with congenital rubella syndrome.

The project was funded by the Department of Health. For further information, please read the report.

The Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) Project

The project was established to examine the long-term health profile of those who were affected by rubella pre-natally and enable doctors to be aware of the range of health difficulties likely to be experienced by people with CRS.

This project is funded by Sense. For further information, please read the report and the accompanying Literature Review.   

The identification and assessment of the needs of older people with combined hearing and sight loss in residential homes (The Bupa Project)

This project has developed a screening tool for use by care-workers in residential homes for the elderly to identify the early signs of acquired dual-sensory loss.

The instrument is an adapted version of one that was originally developed by Else Marie Svingen and her colleagues at the Skadelen Centre in Norway.

This project was funded by Bupa. For further information, read the Bupa report.

The National Collaborative Usher Study (NCUS)

This study was initiated at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 2003 and was funded by a Big Lottery grant that was awarded to Sense.

The Institute of Child Health, Institute of Ophthalmology, The Ear Institute at UCL and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute were also part of the study, which aimed to map the genetic markers of Usher syndrome and other related cilliopathies that result in dual sensory impairment.

You can read a summary of the findings of the study,

An account of the genetic inheritance of Usher and

A description of some of the assessment techniques routinely undertaken at Moorfields.