The Status of Public Health Research in the UK David Hunter - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Status of Public Health Research in the UK David Hunter Professor of Health Policy and Management Durham University Deputy Director, Fuse – the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health

Sources of Support for Public Health Research in the UK (1) • National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)  Public Health Research (PHR)  Health Services Research (HSR)  Service Delivery Organisation (SDO)  Health Technology Assessment (HTA) • UK Clinical Research Collaboration  5 centres for public health research excellence • Department of Health Policy Research Programme  Public Health Research Consortium

Sources of Support for Public Health Research in the UK (2) • Research Councils  Medical Research Council (MRC) o Population Health Sciences Group (PHSG) o Population and Systems Medicine Board (PSMB) o National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI)  Economic and Social Research Council

Some Issues • PHR in UK is fragmented across funding bodies • Lack of joined up priority-setting and funding: too many silos and compartments • Disconnect between research community and policy and practice communities • Strengths in epidemiological research rather than intervention research • Hierarchy of evidence still evident – RCTs remain the ‘gold standard’ • Weaknesses in knowledge to action/knowledge transfer • Focus of RAE/REF incentives on traditional academic outputs: peer review high impact journal papers • Limited capacity of PHR academic community • Complex problems demand complex solutions

Towards a New Research Paradigm Mode I Mode II > Focus is knowledge > Focus is problem-solving generation > Basic to applied research > Learn by doing > Scientist as expert > Knowledge is co-created and context dependent > Clear standards of > Flexible methods and knowledge general guidelines for quality Denis JL et al In: Lemieux-Charles L & Champagne F. Using Knowledge and Evidence in Health Care . U of T Press, 2005

Knowledge to Action – Key Principles • Joint researcher and decision-maker planning and execution of research from the start • Selection and ‘framing’ of research question must speak to decision-maker • Keeping close to decision-makers throughout study • Passive dissemination of results through traditional academic channels is not enough – the media utilised must fit the audience • Development of knowledge brokerage

To Conclude: Some Challenges • Methodological development • Improved research capacity • Better translation of research into practice