Summary of the impact

Edinburgh Napier University led on a large quasi-experimental study which evaluated a National Health Service (NHS) Demonstration Project called Healthy Respect. Healthy Respect was a complex public health intervention based on the latest evidence and theory, which combined school sex education with sexual health drop-in clinics in or near to schools, and was supported by large media and branding campaigns. The research was commissioned by the Scottish Government (2006-2010). Our findings were reported directly to Government and the NHS and were synchronized to fit their policy-making cycles. It shaped Government policy and steered service provision in the NHS.

Summary of the impact

In 2008, the University of Hertfordshire joined, as principal investigators for England, the World Health Organization's Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. European and US policy makers use this long-running cross-national project to set directions for young people's health and wellbeing. Our findings (2011) directly informed policy in the departments of Health and Education, and were identified as a key data source underpinning the Department of Health's outcomes framework for children and young people. Our team also co-authored the World Health Organization's four-yearly international report for 2012, a widely influential document in health care policy and practice.

Summary of the impact

Research providing novel insights into children's perspectives on families and relationships has had wide impact on policy and practice in Scotland. Through a partnership with ChildLine Scotland, research conducted into children's calls has:

• led to the development of voluntary sector services to support children affected by their parents' drinking
• provided key information used to raise the awareness of `harm to others' in the change of alcohol policy to focus on reducing population-level alcohol consumption in Scotland (introduction of restrictions on sales and minimum pricing)
• been included in the training and education for parents, teachers and health improvement staff responsible for sexual health education of about 98,000 school-age children.

Summary of the impact

Policy-makers, professional and public audiences interested in young people's learning about sex and sexuality often approach discussions with strongly-held, sometimes conflicting views. Research at Sheffield Hallam University has contributed knowledge and understanding to discussions in national policy and practice development, and public debate, with impacts on education, service provision and support for young people. Findings have been used in Parliamentary debates, by national organisations lobbying for continued or improved provision in personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), and in discussions about bullying in both lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT)-specific, and also in mainstream, community contexts. This has led to increased understanding about homophobia and LGBT wellbeing.

Summary of the impact

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.

Summary of the impact

Research at Coventry University has produced innovative approaches to addressing sexual health and wellbeing issues, sexual health promotion and sex education. The research has resulted in:-

• Impact on health and wellbeing (UK), an increase in self-reported use of sexual health services (supported by an increase in STI screening rates in some services) and increases in chlamydia screening and detection rates (with the programme now being rolled out nationally). Beneficiaries include young people, parents, GPs, Warwickshire County Council and Coventry City Council.
• Impact on society, culture and creativity through public understanding and public debate (International), with more than 150,000 visitors from over 20 countries accessing the sexual health resources, 30% of visitors returning to the website and an average of 6000 visits per month to the site, one year after launch. These resources benefit young people (primarily 13-25 age group).
• Impact on practitioners and services (International), with training courses and tools facilitating the adoption of best practice, with resources benefitting health practitioners and teachers and being used as evidence of harmful cultural practices in the Asylum Appeal Court.

Summary of the impact

Research on the language of teenage health communication by staff from the School of English at the University of Nottingham has:

• Raised health professionals' awareness and understanding of the language used by teenagers to discuss sensitive issues and helped to normalise adolescent health concerns
• Helped to inform (local and national) government strategy for young people, and health education materials for children and their parents
• Influenced changes in health practice through aiding the continuous professional development of healthcare professionals

Summary of the impact

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.

Summary of the impact

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]).

Summary of the impact

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.