WIREDGOV

Public Health Wales has announced that it will focus its research onto six priority areas, to coincide with the long term strategy and Research and Evaluation strategy it launched last year. 

The organisation’s Research and Evaluation (R&E) Directorate has published the Areas of Research and Evaluation Interest to outline the key areas in which it wants to work and enable collaborators, funders and the research community to target their efforts most effectively.  

The document highlights the research priorities, and breaks that down into further suggested research questions, providing a document that gives researchers and funders greater clarity on what the organisation is looking to focus.  

The areas of interest align with PHW’s six long term strategy priority areas, namely Influencing the Wider Determinants of Health, Promoting Mental and Social Well-being, Promoting Healthy Behaviours, Supporting the Development of a Sustainable Health and Care System, Delivering Excellent Public Health Services and Tackling the Public Health Effects of Climate Change. 

Elen de Lacy, Research and Evaluation Strategic Partnership Lead for Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales is part of a wider research ecosystem, and we work with a wide range of researchers and collaborators across Wales, the UK and internationally. We want to continue to strengthen and expand these relationships across an extensive research infrastructure. We also want to work with funders to influence, support and strengthen the population health agenda for people in Wales. 

“This document gives a clear focus for those people and organisations with whom Public Health Wales is engaged, to align their own research questions and programmes with our priority areas. By aligning their research to areas where better evidence is needed, researchers can generate insights that will inform decisions to improve lives in Wales.” 

“I look forward to working with colleagues across the research landscape in order to develop high quality evidence-based work, and to fulfil Public Health Wales’ vision of ‘Working Together for a Healthier Wales’.”