The NIHR public health research programme: developing evidence for public health decision-makers.

摘要

In 2008, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) set up a new Public Health Research (PHR) programme. This aims to provide 'new knowledge on the benefits, costs, acceptability and wider impacts of non-NHS interventions intended to improve the health of the public and reduce inequalities in health'. It has a budget of pound10 m per annum. It will fund high-quality research to answer questions that matter to people in public health. The approaches will include both evidence synthesis and primary research. The primary research designs will be rigorous but not limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the programme is particularly interested in evaluating natural experiments. It works in both commissioned and researcher-led modes and its detailed plans are set out on the NIHR and the programme's own websites.