Research Goals

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Goal: Create and maintain built and natural environments for better health

Transdisciplinary research into the environmental determinants of health to develop cost-effective interventions to improve and protect the health of the public through the design and maintenance of built and natural environments, consistent with the principles of planetary health.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• Transdisciplinary community of researchers, with leadership from disciplines beyond the traditional health field, such as planners, engineers, architects and environmental scientists.

• Partnerships between researchers and local government to identify, implement and evaluate interventions in their local environment.

• Strong ties with national government so that evidence feeds into the future design of policy and practice.

PEOPLE AND PLACE

Goal: A place-based approach to reduce health inequalities

A strong body of actionable transdisciplinary evidence to create and deliver targeted national and local health of the public solutions to meet the needs and improve health outcomes of excluded and vulnerable populations (including the elderly) within their communities. Research questions and interventions should be co-produced with the public and practitioners, independently.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• Novel funding mechanisms to enable co-production of place-based interventions with the public, local authorities and equivalent devolved systems and public health practitioners, including posts that are jointly funded by universities and local government.

• Interventions should draw on the best science from a range of disciplines to optimise intervention design. Research undertaken in the context of relevant service, local government and third sector settings across the UK.

• Programmes of implementation science to translate evidence at scale to different geographical locations.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Goal: Set children and young people on the right path for good health

Transdisciplinary research into the association between early life, education, educational environments, and health to inform policy and practice and to develop cost-effective interventions within early life programmes and educational settings, co-produced with young people and practice partners, to establish healthy learning environments and behaviours, and improve physical and mental health and educational outcomes.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• Partnerships between researchers and relevant practice partners, such as nurseries, schools and universities, educationalists, the NHS and local authorities to develop interventions within early life and educational settings, co-produced with young people.

• Engagement with novel disciplines including behavioural scientists, neuroscientists, developmental biologists, architects.

• Strong ties with national government and with educationalists and their professional bodies so that evidence feeds into the future design of policy and practice.

HEALTHY WORKING LIVES

Goal: Respond to changes in how we work and what it means for health

Forward looking research that explores the relationship between work environments, patterns and practices (including worklessness) and health of the public, and how this is likely to evolve in the context of the digital revolution and changing demography. It should drive evidence on optimum workplace design, employment and income structures within the workplace and inform forward-looking government policy, practice and industry measures to maintain and improve the physical and mental health, adaptability and resilience of the working age population.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• Partnerships between researchers, employers and trade unions, economists and others to generate evidence of how best to optimise workplace environments and employment practices for health. This should include consideration of the minimum wage, Universal Credit, fiscal policies, and impact on health.

• Strong ties with national and local government so that evidence feeds into the design of forward-looking policy and practice.

FOOD SYSTEMS

Goal: Reshape food systems to improve health

Systems-based research capacity to inform agricultural and food industry policy and practice and to identify and fill evidence gaps for cost-effective interventions across the food system to support healthier, more sustainable and environmentally-friendly diets, and diminish inequalities in nutrition related health outcomes.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• A wider range of disciplines involved in food systems research programmes led by disciplines beyond the traditional health field, including agricultural and plant sciences, human biology and genetics, environmental science, behavioural science and economics.

• Coordinated activity by research funders to incentivise systems research.

• Strong ties with national government so that evidence feeds into the future design of policy and practice

HEALTH AND CARE SYSTEMS

Goal: Understand the role of the health and social care system in prevention

Develop a strong evidence base and promote a culture of understanding of what works in health and social care systems for prevention of ill-health, at both the individual and population level. This would enable systems-level change that is informed by implementation science and which complements the work of local authorities and devolved administrations.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• A programme of implementation science for systems change across health and social care to prevent ill-health.

• Closer working between the NHS, health practitioners and local authorities to develop preventive interventions at individual, local and national level

LEGAL AND FISCAL LEVERS

Goal: Better use of legal and fiscal levers to improve population health

Investment in research to investigate and measure the health impact and economic costs and benefits of legal and fiscal measures at national, local and individual level, to inform future policy and practice.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• A national community of transdisciplinary researchers, involving lawyers, economists, behavioural scientists, political scientists and public health specialists, working with practitioners and the public.

• A well-developed research programme of the cost-effectiveness of fiscal and legal interventions relative to other approaches (e.g. sugar taxation, air quality, food labelling, building design etc.) on health behaviours and environments.

TECHNOLOGY

Goal: Deploy new technologies for health protection and health improvement

Transdisciplinary research to develop and evaluate novel digital and non-digital technologies for health protection, health improvement and health communication, and deploy these where needed across the health and social care system.

What's needed to achieve the goal:

• An integrated research and practice capacity in the use of novel technologies for health protection and health improvement.

• Upskilling of the health practitioner workforce in the application and evaluation of new technologies and increased engagement of computer scientists, engineers, and remote diagnostics and technology industries in health of the public research.

• A programme of research co-produced with the public investigating the effectiveness of communication technologies and social media for improving health and a better understanding of whether such media have adverse outcomes for physical and mental health.