Midland Universities unite to improve public health
The Universities of Birmingham, Keele and Warwick have formed a consortium to become part of an NIHR-funded body working to improve public health through research.
The consortium, called PHRESH, is now part of the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR), which has been awarded £25 million over five years from April 2022 as it begins its third phase of funding.
The funding will advance and extend the school 's current research themes of children, young people and families; public mental health; and places and communities.
Established in April 2012, the renewed NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) is an extended partnership between nine leading centres of academic public health research excellence across England.
The school aims to build the evidence base for effective public health practice by bringing together England 's leading public health research expertise in one virtual organisation. The school conducts research to increase the volume and quality of evidence on cost-effective interventions to tackle important public health challenges. It also supports local public health practitioners and policy makers to engage with, and seek out, research evidence to inform their decisions.
The NIHR ran an open competition to refresh the school membership for a third time and for the appointment of a Director for the school. Academic institutions in England who were able to demonstrate excellence in public health research were encouraged and invited to apply.
Peyman� Adab (pictured), professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology & Public Health at the University of Birmingham who leads the PHRESH consortium, said: “As we continue to navigate through a global pandemic, now more than ever is a time to focus on carrying out research that promotes better population health.
“In particular, we need to focus on reducing differences between the health of different groups, and inform the development of policies that promote wellbeing and reduce disease in people of all ages. We are delighted to have formed this consortium with our fellow experts in Warwick and Keele as we begin on our journey in playing a key role in NIHR SPHR. ”
The school will continue to be led by Professor Ashley Adamson, Director of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, and NIHR Senior Investigator.
Professor Ashley Adamson said: “I am thrilled that SPHR has received further funding to continue its world-class public health research, influencing policy and practice in the UK. Working in partnership with those developing and delivering public health means we have the most relevant and important questions.
“I 'm honoured to continue as director of NIHR SPHR, working with excellent academic and practice colleagues and members of the public to drive forward our research agenda to meet the evidence needs to reduce inequalities in health and improve the health of the public. I am delighted that our capacity building funding creates further opportunity for SPHR to work with the NIHR Academy and others to build a future public health workforce equipped for the challenges ahead ”.
With the Government 's increasing attention on prevention and public health research and how we recover from the pandemic, the contribution of the school is of strategic importance to the Department of Health and Social Care.
The school will build on the successes of the work conducted in the previous quinquennium which has helped planners and public health professionals to create healthier neighbourhoods through regulation by giving them the objective, evidence-based food environment data they need to identify priority areas for regulation.
The research has also informed Local Authority spending and planning, contributed to debates and reviews, generated evidence to inform pandemic recovery planning, and secured further funding.