Priority Research Themes

The PHSRN seeks to build upon and improve the rigour, depth and breadth of existing MRC activities, in particular by the use of systematic reviews and primary research in the following areas: 

Translating population health sciences research into policy and practice

Examples:

• taking emerging findings from MRC funded research and disseminating these to engage with key policy makers/practitioner groups
• systematic reviews of research into the costs and benefits of different strategies for translating population health research into policy and practice
• primary research (e.g. nested trials) of the effectiveness of different translational strategies using PHSRN Units' findings
• establishing appropriate theoretical frameworks and techniques that effectively result in beneficial behavioural change in professionals and patients
• examining ways in which guidelines could be made more effective and useful to practitioners

Changing behaviour at the individual, group or environmental levels

Examples:

• systematic review of the effectiveness of different behavioural strategies
• trials of behavioural change interventions

Improving measurement in the population health sciences

Examples:

• appraising, developing and validating robust measures of behavioural and environmental exposures, such as diet, physical activity, obesogenic environments, environmental tobacco smoke, etc
• appraising, developing and validating robust measures of human development and functioning

Overcoming barriers to population health sciences research

Examples:

• improving statistical methodology for population health research including cohort studies, gene-environment interaction studies, small sample sizes whether in field surveys or clinical trials of complex interventions
• improving participation in population health sciences research
• better public engagement in research; new way of involvement e.g. citizen's juries.
• research into attrition rates in health surveys and clinical trials
• reviews of research into actual and perceived barriers to randomised or quasi experimental community based trials.
• using the MRC Framework for Complex Interventions and developing guidance on operationalising or modifying it
• data management science - sharing expertise and knowledge, particularly in the transfer of skills and knowledge from clinical trial to cohort study datasets; developing common processes to manage complex data sets and training staff in managing and maintaining complex datasets and making some available for secondary analysis.

Synthesising evidence, capitalising on the methodological strengths in the Network and the datasets available in/to the Units

Examples:

• ‘Value of Information' techniques
• decision analysis tools
• Bayesian synthesis of qualitative and quantitative studies
• Meta-regression
• Synthesis of qualitative evidence
• Synthesis of observational aetiological evidence
• Systematic reviews in"basic science" (population health scientists are currently very focused on reviewing "interventions" in humans - but various people have pointed out the need for more reviews of basic biological mechanisms and animal studies)
• Using individual patient data from large studies and meta-analyses in evidence synthesis for cost-effectiveness analysis