Umio secures UK government funding to improve the lives of veterans living with chronic pain

We are delighted to announce that Umio has secured UK government funding to build a digital ecosystem for the estimated 1 million UK veterans who live with chronic or persistent pain.

One of 22 projects allocated a share of the Office for Veteran Affairs (OVA) £5m Health Innovation Fund (official announcement here), the Umio ‘experience ecosystem’ will bring novel ways for suffering veterans to recover their lives from pain.

Umio for Veterans is centred on an innovative dynamic model of veteran’s real lived experience with chronic pain.

This sits atop a multi-stakeholder ecosystem where veterans can learn and share their experience, engage in peer support, and create and/or access therapies and services with each other, pain professionals, veteran charities, community groups, supportive civilians, and other stakeholders.

Commenting on the award, Chris Lawer, Umio CEO said:

“We are really excited to have won through a very strong competitive field to receive funding from the OVA Health Innovation Fund.

As one of only 2 non-university affiliated winners, this award is testament to our distinctive “real” perspective of chronic health experiences, of which pain is a perfect example.

Further, it underlines the value of our strategic focus that pursues novel ways to better see, know and address complex conditions whose real experience lies far beyond a narrow clinical or biomedical model.

Applying our expansive view along with our UmioREALITIES experience ecosystem services and technology suite, we very much look forward to working with the OVA and the veteran community to create wider health and wellbeing impacts for veterans who suffer from long-term chronic pain.”

The Umio veteran experience ecosystem builds on a prototype created from our extensive pain research conducted in the UK (especially in Northern Ireland) and Europe over the past five years. The 12-month development will begin with further research into veteran lived experience with pain.

If you’re a UK veteran suffering from chronic pain, work for the NHS or MOD, are a veteran charity or other veteran stakeholder group wishing to learn more, participate in our research and/or get involved in the development of the Umio solution, please contact Chris Lawer, Umio CEO-Founder via the button below.