News from PHR

£10 Million per year for Public Health Research

A new research programme which will help the Government to continue to improve public health and reduce health inequalities was launched by Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo today.

The Public Health Research (PHR) programme is being established by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and will evaluate a wide range of public health interventions. These could include social marketing for the promotion of safe sex, to the prevention of obesity in children, and speed humps for the prevention of road traffic accidents. The funding will rise over each of the next three years to reach £10 million a year.

The research programme has been designed to provide new knowledge on the benefits, costs, acceptability and wider effect of non-NHS interventions.

The NIHR Public Health Research programme forms part of a coordinated approach to health research by the National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council.

Dawn Primarolo said: “In order to continue improving the health and wellbeing of the people of this country we need reliable, relevant evidence on the most effective ways of protecting from disease, preventing ill-health and promoting good health. This information can only come from research.

“The NIHR Public Health Research programme will provide policy-makers, front-line professionals and members of the public with the information they need to improve health and reduce health inequalities.”

Following the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review in support of Best Research for Best Health, and the Cooksey review recommended the need for more public health research, the Government has awarded the NIHR additional money to set up this new programme.

Many agencies are involved in the improvement of health and are potential users of such knowledge; all have a particular need for reliable evidence to underpin their action and guidance on public health interventions.

The NIHR Public Health Research programme will mainly work in responsive mode, taking applications for both primary and secondary research and assessing them at regular intervals. The programme will look to fund primary research at all phases but especially pragmatic evaluation studies. The first call for research proposals will be taking place in November 2008. For more details visit www.phr.nihr.ac.uk

Professor Sally C. Davies, Director General of Research & Development at the Department of Health said: “The NIHR Public Health Research programme will address the shortage of research into the real effectiveness and impact of interventions that can really affect the health of the public. The substantial budget for this programme will give it the scope to fund both smaller-scale studies and large studies of national or international importance, which may be beyond the capacity of most other funders.”

Notes for editors 

The NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) programme will have two modes of operation. Most funding will be in response to applicants' proposals, but there will also be commissioning capacity to advertise prioritised topics, themed calls and linked research projects. 

The NIHR Public Health Research programme will be managed by the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centres (NETS-CC), based at the University of Southampton alongside other NIHR Programmes including the world-class NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme. Further details about the call for research proposals and the remit of the PHR programme are available from www.phr.nihr.ac.uk

About the National Institute for Health Research 

The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. More information about the National Institute for Health Research is available on its website at www.nihr.ac.uk 

The HTA programme produces research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. More information about the HTA programme is available on its website at www.hta.ac.uk 

The National Institute for Health Research's progress report “Transforming Health Research the first two years” can be downloaded from the NIHR website at: www.nihr.ac.ukabout/progress/report.aspx

Contact details

Jon Cole, Senior Programme Manager (Communications) 
Telephone: 023 8059 5642, jmec@southampton.ac.uk

Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 023 8059 5646, ns5@southampton.ac.uk

Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 023 8059 5584, h.nikandrou@southampton.ac.uk