getUBetter Secures NIHR i4i Research Funding to Provide Real-World Evidence for National Adoption

getUBetter, in partnership with University of the West of England (UWE) and NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) integrated care system (ICS), has been awarded research funding from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme. The funding will enable the company to evaluate the effectiveness of its digital self-management technology for non-specific low back pain across an entire ICS care pathway.

Non-specific low back pain affects a significant proportion of the UK’s population, impacting people’s daily lives, work, and the economy. Over a lifetime, 84% of people experience low back pain and, at any given time, around 15% of the population is affected. It accounts for 5% of all GP appointments, adding pressure on the already strained NHS. National guidelines strongly recommend early self-management as an effective approach to managing non-specific low back pain.

getUBetter is already widely used across the NHS, providing self-management support for all common musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries and conditions to 17 ICSs and a total eligible population of 20 million people. Delivering digital self-management across entire care pathways, getUBetter is embedded alongside routine care. It ensures patients can access local support wherever they seek help, from the community to primary care and hospitals. getUBetter’s solutions are underpinned by evidence-based, real-world evaluations and NICE Early Value Assessment (EVA) approval, demonstrating their ability to support the NHS’s key priorities:

• Transitioning from analogue to digital care.
• Shifting from hospital-centric to community-based care.
• Moving from reactive treatment to preventative approaches.

The NIHR i4i research funding will further support getUBetter in evaluating the impact of the service on patients, clinicians, and the health system, as well as looking at the cost-effectiveness of integrating digital self-management support for non-specific low back pain into ICS MSK clinical pathways. The research will also explore implementation challenges with the aim of providing transferable insights to support broader digital adoption across the NHS.

The funding supports late-stage innovations, enabling companies to generate the evidence required for full NICE approval and accelerating adoption within the NHS.  It is part of NIHR’s efforts to bring cutting-edge technologies into routine NHS practice, enabling patients to benefit sooner and helping the UK maintain its position as a global leader in healthcare innovation.

Dr Carey McClellan, getUBetter’s Founder and CEO, said “As a researcher and clinician, I’m delighted that we and our academic partners have been awarded this funding. Digital solutions have an important role to play in supporting patients and the NHS, but they must be evidence based. Collaborating with UWE Bristol, NHS BNSSG ICS, and other partners, we aim to provide real-world evidence to support national adoption.”