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Methods for valuing quality of life developed by Professor Devlin at City University London are used internationally to help governments make healthcare decisions. Her research focuses on a widely-used questionnaire for measuring patient reported health, the European Quality of Life 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D). Government organisations routinely use the EQ-5D to judge whether new medicines work and are cost-effective. Over 15 countries are undertaking EQ-5D studies using Professor Devlin's methods to inform decisions on pricing and provision of new medicines. These developments have been achieved through active dissemination to the academic community and governments and through Professor Devlin's scientific leadership of the European Quality of Life (EuroQol) Group. The impact of this research is highly significant in improving health and health care decision-making and has had wide reach throughout the UK and in many other countries.
Globally, many health research-funding organisations, public and charitable, felt the need to demonstrate to policymakers and the public how their investments in research were benefitting society. HERG's research on developing techniques for assessing the payback (or impact) from health research tackled this need. The payback stream of research itself has had significant, wide- reaching and cumulative impacts. First, internationally, health research funding bodies adopted the framework in their evaluation strategies, including to provide accountability. Second, many stakeholders made extensive use the findings of payback studies in public debate and private lobbying for public expenditure on health research. Third, governments, public research funding bodies and medical research charities, from the UK to Australia, used the findings from payback studies to inform decisions regarding the levels and distribution of health research funding, with the aim of increasing the health and economic benefits that come from investments in research.
Evidence about the need for and provision of health visiting services generated through research undertaken at King's College London (KCL) has underpinned major changes in national policies for health visiting. Our findings about health visitors' practice, availability and distribution of services and effectiveness in terms of parenting/child outcomes, revealed both shortfalls in provision and opportunities for improvement and led to the development of a new caseload weighting tool and funding model for service planning. The accumulated evidence from this research helped convince the UK Government in 2010 to commit to 4,200 more health visitors by 2015 — a workforce expansion of nearly 50% — in a time of austerity and restraint elsewhere in the public sector.
Health inequalities are recognised as a critical UK policy issue with life expectancy gaps of up to 28 years between the least and most deprived areas. This case-study demonstrates how Durham University research has led to: (a) changing health service commissioning (with County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trust [PCT]): (b) influencing NHS funding policy (by generating Parliamentary debate); as well as (c) contributing to the development of the new public health system in England and Wales (as part of the Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post-2010 [Marmot Review]).
Adults with learning disabilities (LD) often cannot adequately report illness and there is evidence that treatable illnesses go undetected. As a direct result of Cardiff University research on health checking adults in primary care, the Welsh Government and the Department of Health now provide funding for all adults with LDs across England and Wales to receive an annual health check that employs Cardiff University methods. Current data on take-up (N=78,000 per year) and evaluation of results show that nearly 250,000 adults with LDs have had new health needs identified and treatments initiated during the REF assessment period (2008-2013). Nearly 40,000 adults per year will have new health needs identified and treatments initiated as a result of the health checks, with approximately 3,500 of these being potentially serious conditions.
The `People in Public Health' (PIPH) study and related research on health trainers, health champions and volunteers has brought together evidence on rationales for lay engagement, effectiveness and models of support. Dissemination activities, supported by a Department of Health grant, have achieved reach into various policy arenas and national networks. At the same time there is evidence of research utilisation in public health practice. One of the impacts has been the establishment of `Active Citizens for Health', a national network of partner organisations to bring together evidence and learning that has been hosted by Leeds Metropolitan University.
Research into service user involvement in mental health care resulted in the development of an educational intervention for registered mental health nurses to deliver effective, ethically appropriate therapeutic interventions for highly distressed and disturbed patients.
The research outputs were taken up and implemented by Halikko hospital in Finland, leading to a significant change in policy and practice, including a substantial reduction in the use of coercive techniques. Following the success of this change, other psychiatric hospitals in Finland have adopted the system.
Public financing of health services in low income countries was challenged by the World Bank's Agenda for Reform in 1987, which advocated increased roles for private sector, private insurance and user fees. This was followed by a wave of reforms implementing this approach. McPake has been involved in researching the implications of this shift since this period and has published a series of influential articles that have had a demonstrable impact on this debate. Removal of user fees for all, or selected, services or for selected population groups has occurred in many countries, including 28 of 50 countries with the highest maternal and child health mortality included in a recent survey (http://bit.ly/17FUiDM). Witter is the lead researcher who has examined country level experiences of removing fees and it is demonstrable that her work has been applied in specific countries to shape the details of policy and has also had a major influence on the global debate.
Findings from research at Newcastle on health inequalities and the basis on which economic decisions are made have informed the recommendations made to and adopted by the Secretary of State of Health. These recommendations influenced two specific areas of the National Health Service (NHS) budget allocation. Formulae developed by Wildman and his colleagues are of key importance in determining the allocation of the NHS's £8 billion prescribing budget and the £10.4 billion mental health services budget.
This case study presents the impact of the Health and Temperature Research Group (HTRG) at Sheffield Hallam University, led by Professor Tod. The group generates novel, collaborative, translational, interdisciplinary (e.g. health, housing and environment, energy and welfare) research with a focus on cold related ill health. The research impact is illustrated here by The Keeping Warm in Later Life Project (KWILLT). KWILLT findings provide a unique understanding of the complex environment and multiple factors influencing older people keeping warm and well in winter. Beneficiaries include NHS, local and national policy makers, and practice organisations.