The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7262 p199
16 August 2003

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HDA report, “Public health intervention research: the evidence” (PDF 110K)

More research into reducing and preventing chronic illness needed

More research needs to be done on ways of preventing and reducing ill-health, according to the Health Development Agency, the Government's public health promotion body.

Only 0.4 per cent of public health research published in the United Kingdom between 1995 and 2001 related to illness prevention, the HDA reveals in a new report.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of research and information at the HDA, said that an interest in short-term, politically high-profile “quick hits” could be inhibiting research into longer-term health benefits.

The HDA report, “Public health intervention research: the evidence”, suggests that there should be a national research framework to lead development and that universities should be given incentives to carry out this type of work. A national public health database should be established, it adds.

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