Research Principles

The public health research principles aim to guide investment in, and development of, health of the public research to provide evidence for action and respond to public health challenges faced by the UK. The research principles aim to increase the impact of the UK's offer on health of the public research.

Overarching principles

  1. Undertake research to identify the most cost-effective methods to prevent ill-health, increase healthy life expectancies and reduce health inequalities

  2. Embrace a long-term and sustainable approach to better balance human advancement with the environment, in line with the principles of planetary health

  3. Intervene across a range of environments on both the upstream drivers of physical and mental health, alongside what can be achieved by the health and social care system

RAISE AMBITION

WIDEN PERSPECTIVE

IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING

  • Focus on research that has the potential to drive large-scale positive change

  • Encourage innovation and ambitious thinking

  • Support a ‘Health in All Policies’ approach to bring health of the public centre stage

  • Encourage transdisciplinary working, training and knowledge exchange to bring non-traditional disciplines into health of the public research

  • Develop and optimise new methodological approaches and technologies

  • Advocate a systems-based approach to understanding and tackling complex public health challenges

  • Encourage synthesis of existing and new evidence of what works and what doesn’t

  • Ensure that research findings are timely and communicated to the public and practitioners through novel means

  • Evaluate interventions to identify what works, where and why, assess costs, benefits and timeframes for impacts

  • Promote a culture of learning and sharing with other countries to support international efforts to improve global health security and planetary health

CO-PRODUCTION OF RESEARCH

  • Develop new models of joint working to co-produce research with those who will use and benefit from the evidence, including: local authorities and devolved administrations, the public, practitioners, policymakers, and the third sector.