Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care Research (UoA2)
We conduct most of our research within the Newcastle University Population Health Sciences Institute, a world-leading centre. Our research aims to improve health, care and wellbeing for all and reduce health inequalities. We undertake world-class research and translating our findings into policy and practice. Our submission includes 33 staff, an increase of over 10% from 2014.
Who we are
We conduct most of our research within the Newcastle University Population Health Sciences Institute, a world-leading centre.
Our research aims to improve health, care and wellbeing for all and reduce health inequalities. We undertake world-class research and translating our findings into policy and practice. Our submission includes 33 staff, an increase of over 10% from 2014.
Within this return:
- eight academic promotions and 12 strategic appointments
- 15% of our academics are clinicians, holding honorary NHS contracts
- our grant income has increased by 15% to an average of £7.7m per year
- we received 25 fellowships and 13 post-doctoral awards
- we've developed a strong, interdisciplinary early career research community
Main research areas
We organise our high quality research across four major research areas:
- Applied Epidemiology
- Applied Public Health
- Primary Care and Health Services Research
- Health and Social Care Evaluation
Each research area includes postgraduate researchers and staff at all career stages.
Research Leadership
We lead many national and international investments including:
- NIHR School for Public Health Research
- NIHR Policy Research Unit in Behavioural Science
- NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria
- NIHR Research Design Service North East North Cumbria
- Alzheimer’s Society National Centre of Excellence in Dementia Care
- NIHR Global Health Research Group
Research case studies
Developing the tool
Our research identified that ageing affects the ability to complete daily activities while living independently. This reduces an individual’s quality of life.
This research underpinned development of LifeCurve™. This tool assesses an individual’s current functional ability. Healthcare providers use LifeCurve™, provided by ADL Smartcare.
The tool matches safe, specific interventions to an individual. This prevents functional decline, and maintains independence for longer.
Local authority roll-out
Ten local authorities in England and Scotland use LifeCurve™. This has resulted in over 10,000 assessments, improving the independence of individuals.
In 2020, we expanded the provision of LifeCurve™ to Australia and New Zealand.
Intake24 for assessing population-level intake
A user-friendly online food diary
Assessing the population’s diet is essential for monitoring public health. It also helps researchers test the impact of campaigns. Traditional methods such as a food diaries are time-consuming, impractical and expensive.
Newcastle University developed Intake24, an accurate and user-friendly online food diary.
Users input their food intake over the past 24 hours into the system. It then calculates the nutritional content of the food eaten.
The system provides time and cost savings, as well as removing social desirability bias. This is where a participant answers in a manner they think others would prefer.
Industry adoption
Public Health England used Intake24 to assess the Government’s Sugar Smart campaign, saving around £250,000.
It was recently added to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey to assess population dietary intake across the UK. Coeliac UK has also used it to assess the intakes of 1,000 people following a gluten-free diet.
As part of an international project, Intake24 was also used to assess the diets of 16,000 participants in Denmark and Portugal, saving £50,000.
There was a successful pilot of Intake24 in the 2018/19 Scottish Health Survey. This led Food Standards Scotland to adopt the system for their surveys moving forward.
Specific care needs
Each year, over 25,000 young people with long-term health conditions undergo transition into adulthood.
They have specific care needs and transition is not always appropriately provided. This can result in reduced social participation and employment opportunities.
Researchers conducted a longitudinal Newcastle study with young people in transition. They gave in-depth interviews with health and social care commissioners. They also identified seven key recommendations and created a toolkit to assist implementation.
Informing policy
These findings underpinned high-level national policy and guidelines. Both 2016 NICE guidance and the 2019 NHS Long-Term Plan and are now used in practice.
A national survey of NHS Trusts showed that they now recognise the importance of successful transition. They are starting to provide adequate transition services.
The findings showed:
- 60% stated that their Trust had a policy for promoting a young person’s confidence in managing their own health.
- 96% agreed that children’s clinicians plan transition processes with adults’ clinicians in their Trust
- 100% discussed transition with the young person and provide them with written information
Our research also underpins impact in other UoAs including:
- Improving school food standards and introducing universal free school meals for infants (UoA 3)
- Accessing community pharmacies for non-urgent care (UoA 3)
- Best practice for healthcare professionals in supporting parents who have experienced a bereavement from a multiple pregnancy (UoA 3)
- Creating national debate and informing international policy to address geographical and socio-economic inequalities in health (UoA 20)
- Remission of type 2 diabetes using a very low calorie diet (UoA 1)
- A motor learning approach to speech therapy for children with cerebral palsy (UoA4)
We achieve a wider impact through engagement with government, business and society.
Interdisciplinary research
We hold leadership roles in our Newcastle University Centres of Research Excellence (NUCoREs).
We also lead many Faculty of Medical Sciences research themes for:
- Ageing and Geroscience
- Applied Cancer Therapeutics and Outcomes
- Innovation, Methodology and Application Hub
- Public Health and Health Inequalities
Our facilities
Colleagues enjoy high quality facilities to support our diverse research needs. Since the last REF, we also made the strategic decision to co-locate researchers to the most appropriate site.
We co-located Ageing researchers with clinical colleagues at the £8m Health Innovation Neighbourhood. We co-located nutrition researchers in the William Leech Building too.
Other new investments include repurposing offices in the Sir James Spence Institute and our our award winning £40M Helix site. Our Integrated COVID Hub-North East is a £110M state-of-the-art laboratory and regional command and control centre.
Inclusive research
The principles of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are at the heart of our staffing strategy and development.
This provides a positive working structure and we have equality leads in both the Faculty and Institute.
We are proud to have received an Athena SWAN Silver in 2011. A high proportion of staff across all grades are female (76% overall, with 73% at Professor). 13% of internal promotions were in BAME groups.
Early Career Researchers
We have a vibrant and diverse postdoctoral and postgraduate research student community. We support and mentor all our Early Career Researchers.
During the REF period 80 students received PhDs. Our postgraduate research population is 71% female with 34% from BAME backgrounds.
Since 2014, eight research staff have received promotions to senior research positions. Twelve staff progressed from research assistant to research associate.
Engagement
We have contributed to the wider research and policy communities through advocacy, leadership, and advisory roles across:
- guidance development
- expert witness and Select Committees
- COVID-19 response
- international learned societies
- national or international strategy panels
- grant funding bodies
- industrial partnerships
- research networks
- editorial boards
Our ambitions
Our ambition is to cement and extend our position as a world-leading centre of public health, primary care and health services research. We plan to achieve this aim by:
- recruiting more “transition to independence” and senior lecturers to develop a strength in depth
- maximising opportunities from our cohort and registry studies
- increasing the development and implementation of our innovative designs and methods
- increasing the impact of our research to improve public health and reduce health inequalities
- building on the success of our gender equality campaign, focusing on under-represented groups like BAME
- increasing regional and national capacity by training the next generation of researchers
Find out more
Learn about our world-leading public health, primary care and health services research:
Newcastle University Population Health Sciences Institute
NIHR School for Public Health Research
NIHR Policy Research Unit in Behavioural Science
NIHR Policy Research Unit in Older People and Frailty
NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria