AWARD DETAILS AND CRITERIA
The Oliver Middlemiss Prize
Topic - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Amount - £350
Context. Oliver Middlemiss suffered from a crippling and disabling form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He was bright, able and many of the people who worked with him and knew him well were deeply surprised when he took his own life in July 2019. Only those closest to him knew of his suffering. Oliver was committed to his recovery and to making a difference to other OCD sufferers, especially those who had lost hope. To this end and in his name, the family and friends of the late Oliver Middlemiss have introduced a £350 prize that will, initially, be awarded annually.
OCD, which affects up to 2-3% of the population, receives 0.6% of the total research budget making it the least funded area of research in mental health (MQ, 2019). Historically the prevalence of suicide in OCD was considered to be low. Recent analysis of large national datasets across several countries has proven this assumption incorrect (AACP, no date; Kamath, Reddy and Kandavel, 2007; Fernández de la Cruz et al., 2017; Khosravani et al., 2017; Dell'Osso et al., 2018). New research suggests that someone diagnosed with OCD is about ten times more likely to die by suicide than a similarly matched control in general population (Fernández de la Cruz et al., 2017). Emergence of this new evidence highlights an unmet need for a better academic and clinical understanding of the issue of suicide in OCD. This prize seeks to raise awareness of this issue amongst clinicians and encourage more research in this area.
Purpose. The primary aim of the prize is to specifically encourage interest and to raise awareness of OCD amongst clinicians and researchers by rewarding a piece of work on OCD. The scope of the prize would include all clinical or research posters on the topic of OCD. A shortlist of 3-5 posters will be made for the final award and any poster on the topic of OCD and suicide will be automatically shortlisted for the prize. A website has been created to provide a reference for OCD research. Finalists will be asked to allow their research to be referenced on the website.
Format. The prize committee will take a flexible approach to the nature of the work but a poster is likely to be the most appropriate approach. The posters should be presented at conferences listed in the 'News' section of this website - RCP events. The winner may be invited to present their work at one of the OCARD seminars. The project could draw from multiple data sources, including medical research, anecdotal evidence and media representations. There is a large body of work on OCD and yet it remains not well understood in the wider medical practice.
Candidate Eligibility. Any person selected to present the work at the specified RCP events in that calendar year.
Judging Criteria. The work will be judged by a prize panel across the spectrum of those who interact with or are affected by OCD. The composition my vary but may include: 1-2 members of the OCARD group; an OCD researcher; a close relative of Oliver Middlemiss and an OCD patient. Supervision may be available from a suitable member of the Royal College of Psychiatry, specifically the OCARD group.
Timings (may vary - a rough outline)
Call for submissions - 4 to 6 months ahead of the RCP events.
Final report/poster to be received by submission dates as specified by Congress and Faculty conference.
Outcome announced - First week of December.
Presentation of project - tbc but likely to be at an OCARD event.
Guidance for submission is to submit a piece of work to an RCP event state the desire for consideration for the Oliver Middlemiss OCD Award. However, even without this stated request, appropriate pieces of work will be considered.
References
AACP (no date) Suicide ideation and attempts in obsessive-compulsive disorder | AACP. Available at: https://www.aacp.com/article/buy_now/?id=590 (Accessed: 31 January 2020).
Dell'Osso, B. et al. (2018) 'Prevalence of suicide attempt and clinical characteristics of suicide attempters with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a report from the International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders (ICOCS)', CNS spectrums, 23(1), pp. 59-66.
Fernández de la Cruz, L. et al. (2017) 'Suicide in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a population-based study of 36 788 Swedish patients', Molecular psychiatry, 22(11), pp. 1626-1632.
Kamath, P., Reddy, Y. C. J. and Kandavel, T. (2007) 'Suicidal behavior in obsessive-compulsive disorder', The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 68(11), pp. 1741-1750.
Khosravani, V. et al. (2017) 'Early maladaptive schemas and suicidal risk in an Iranian sample of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder', Psychiatry research, 255, pp. 441-448.
MQ (2019) UK Mental Health Research Funding 2014-2017. MQ. Available at: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/www.joinmq.org/UK+Mental+Health+Research+Funding+2014-2017+digital.pdf.