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)
• Population Health Sciences Group (PHSG)
• Population and Systems Medicine Board (PSMB)
• 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

> Focus is knowledge

generation

> Basic to applied research > Scientist as expert > Clear standards of

knowledge Mode II

> Focus is problem-solving > Learn by doing > Knowledge is co-created and

context dependent

> Flexible methods and

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