Advisory Board October 2026 by NIHRSPHR

Advisory board meeting October 2026 General update paper The purpose of this document is to provide the NIHR SPHR Advisory Board with some background and a written overview of SPHR research and capacity building activity since the last meeting of the Advisory Board in October 2025. Members of the SPHR Directorate will speak to this paper at our meeting on Wednesday 14th October.

Contents General developments and updates...

SPHR in numbers…………………..

You said, we did……………………….

Research programmes………………..

Finance…………………………………

Impact…………………………………..

Policy impact…………………………...

Voluntary Sector Evaluation Scheme

Training…………………………………

NIHR Three Schools…………………..

General developments and updates About the School

How does it do this?

The NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) aims to increase the evidence base for inclusive, equitable and cost-effective public health practice.

Established in 2012, the School is a partnership between nine leading academic centres with excellence in applied public health research in England. To achieve our goal of supporting the creation of a healthy society, we:

Why do we need public health research? We all want to live in a healthy society. A healthy society is one in which people can experience physical and mental wellbeing, make meaning of their lives and have the sense of control needed to pursue life goals. Our health is shaped by a wide range of factors including where we’re born and the places where we grow up, live and work. These are the building blocks of a healthy society and are also known as the wider determinants of health. In England, lives are being cut short because of unfair and avoidable differences in people’s health. We don’t all have the same opportunities to live healthy lives. Public health research investigates these differences and tries to understand how everyone in society can have the same opportunity to live healthier lives. Within local and national government, decisions that are made about the building blocks of health – including transport, housing, education, and planning – all affect the health of people and communities. SPHR research and evidence can be used to inform these decisions so that money can be spent where it’s needed most to make a positive difference to people’s lives and benefit everyone in society.

• Work together to produce evidence which can be used to address the problems people face. • Create an environment which brings together researchers, people who work in public health, people who are experts by experience and the general public to create the right environment to produce first class evidence. • Help people understand the benefits of using evidence, and support people to use it. • Train the public health researchers of the future

The wider context

The importance of prevention and public health research is highlighted in the recently published 10-year Health Plan for England and Life Sciences Sector Plan. SPHR addresses a key mission laid out by the Government ‘People deserve to live in a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer […] By addressing the main underlying drivers of ill-health and tackling persistent inequalities in health, we will put the NHS on a sustainable footing for the How does the School help future’. Our work is particularly aligned with build a healthy society? one of the Government’s ‘three-shifts’: ‘Shift 3: focusing on preventing sickness, not just The NIHR SPHR is rising to the challenge by treating it’. Better public health with a focus generating the evidence needed to inform on prevention is essential for saving health and shape research-driven decisions. This and care costs and costs further into the will help put in place and strengthen the system and improving the health and wealth building blocks of good health that are of the nation. needed for all of us to live healthier lives.

General developments and updates Our NIHR SPHR Membership 2022–2029 SPHR is a partnership between nine leading academic centres with excellence in applied public health research and evaluative practice in England. The School brings together its members’ expertise in a collaborative working relationship – to ensure emphasis on what works practically, can be applied across the whole country and better meets the needs of policy makers, practitioners and the public.

SPHR in numbers (2022-2026)

Research 4 Research programmes 31 Programme projects 18 ResNet projects 16 Impact Accelerator Awards 4 Areas for research innovation

Social media and newsletter 3,776 LinkedIn followers (1,188 last year) 871 External newsletter subscribers

463 Prevention newsletter 6 Emergent Public Health Priority subscribers projects 33,107 YouTube views in 2026

Capacity building 47 Summer interns 15 Transdisciplinary Placements 9 Pre-application support fund awards 8 Pre-doctoral fellowships 10 Post-doctoral fellowships

Other

5 Parliamentary responses 2 PhD by publication (completed) submitted to government inquiries in 2026 25 PhD studentships 12 Research collections launched 9 Pre-application support fund in 2026 awards 4 Impact case studies in 2026 187 ResNet members 8 Research briefings in 2026 14 Trainee blogs published so far this year

You said, we did NIHR SPHR Advisory Board (AB) met on 15th & 16th October 2025. There were several helpful points of feedback and action that we have been working on since the meeting summarised here.

Feedback (you said)

Action (we did)

The School should distil and highlight work that would not have been achievable otherwise.

Thank you, we are planning a synthesis of research in the School since 2012 (more in the meeting).

Greater emphasis needed on costeffectiveness - both the value of interventions and the cost of not intervening.

We are working with the SPHR Network for Health Economics to identify and maximise opportunity for economic evaluation.

The School’s overarching message should focus on its ability to capture impact acceleration and a meta-synthesis across programmes is important.

Thank you, we are working on this. • Plans for synthesis are underway. • We have published 12 Research Collections • Interest in IAAs is increasing • We are refreshing our impact strategy and working to maximise impact across SPHR activity.

Should aim to future-proof beyond 2029, recognising that some current public health networks may not last.

Thank you, we can work on this when we know more about what the future holds. We will work with NIHR to ensure the website etc. is not lost.

Going forwards, need to frame new business plan as a strategic business case, showcasing impact more effectively.

Thank you, we made sure that impact is a cornerstone of the business plan for the extension. We are working on showcasing impact through our Research Collections and conversations with colleagues in DHSC and NIHR.

The School tends to undersell itself. It should market better the work it is doing, repackage and reveal the impact of its work. It needs to market its credibility as the leading hub for robust public health research and act as a navigator in the field.

Thank you, we are working on this. We invited external policy, practice and third sector colleagues to our Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) e.g. King’s Fund. We are showcasing SPHR research again this year at Evidence Week in Parliament.

Feedback (you said)

Action (we did)

The relationships and connections built between institutions are a huge asset and need to be marketed as such.

We are working on this. We demonstrate the importance of collaboration in our Annual Report by ensuring high impact case studies highlight collaboration and through examples of leveraged funding awarded as a result of collaborations in the School.

Suggested to conduct a gap analysis to understand what needs to be addressed – also linked to FK’s discussion on incubator funding earlier in the day.

In planning research for the SPHR extension, we asked members to submit potential research topics (led by midcareer researchers) that addressed gaps in evidence, aligned with the 10-year health plan and government priorities. We undertook prioritisation of the topics and ran workshops for MCRs to coalesce around ideas to take forward as research projects.

Identify what activities the School could stop to make room for bolder ideas in the new plan.

We are focussing on opportunity for midcareer researchers during the extension with the majority of the research budget being spent on research led by them. We are also focussed on realising impact of SPHR research and synthesising research and evidence. From a capacity building perspective, we are focussing on doctoral, post-doctoral awards and transdisciplinary awards (we are not planning pre-doc fellowships).

Additional funding should not just continue existing work and instead it should drive new, bolder directions.

We considered this when planning research for the extension, it was a criterion for research topics.

Needs to improve storytelling and marketing of the School and enhance its knowledge sharing.

Thank you, we can work on this. We would welcome any specific suggestions from Advisory Board as to how we can do this more effectively.

Feedback (you said)

Action (we did)

Needs to be more agile in addressing current public health priorities and demonstrating responsiveness to challenges.

We are doing this via our Emergent Public Health Priority funding, in signposting horizon scanning opportunities and in extension plans.

Positive feedback on the research collections which should be reflected in the meta-synthesis.

This is central to our plans for research evidence synthesis (more on this in the meeting).

Values the pre-application support fund noting its importance as everyone needs support in this area.

Thank you – we intend to fund preapplication support during the extension (first call open now).

The School should use additional two years as a stock take period.

We now know that the School will not be recommissioned. Our focus is on ensuring continued funding for future PH research and to leave a legacy.

Only take on more research if can demonstrate clear, future impact.

We have made this point central to planning research for the extension.

The School should take a confident leadership role in shaping the public health landscape.

Prof Ashley Adamson (SPHR Director) is a member of the Strategic Public Health Oversight Group (SPHOG), leading on capacity building. She is also part of the Schools Transition Group chaired by Dr Alice Mortlock. We have also appointed a third Deputy Director, Prof Steve Cummins to ensure we have capacity to take a lead in shaping the PH landscape.

Noted some defensiveness to change during earlier table discussions with some preferring to maintain existing approaches (e.g. funding for more PhDs) rather than looking towards more innovative ideas.

Building a consensus across members is always a challenge. We plan to continue PhDs (x 6 co-funded with NIHR infrastructure) but also more transdisciplinary placements and fellowships.

Feedback (you said)

Action (we did)

Encouraged cross-theme thinking to identify gaps and broaden research perspectives. Promote transdisciplinary research (e.g. through TDPs) to connect across systems and disciplines.

Our four intersecting research programmes are working together with members from across the School to ensure evidence gaps are identified and to ensure research evidence has broad public health impact. We continue to lead the way in promoting transdisciplinary research. We are planning more TDPs and TDFs during the extension period to 2029.

Achieving impact requires training and noted the need to avoid silos as returning to them would be a setback.

We have taken the comment around ‘silos’ to be more about the wider ecosystem than the School. As per the point above, we are working together in the School to avoid this. With regard to training, our Knowledge Exchange Broker (KEB) is revising the impact resource pages on the SPHR website, has attended research meetings to discuss impact and has fed into how to build impact into new research projects. The KEB is also encouraging early conversations about impact e.g., via preliminary IAA conversations.

SPHR now fighting for its place amongst many other priorities. The extension may be politically timed ahead of the 2029 election.

We know now that the School will not be recommissioned. We are focusing on ensuring we conduct research that will have impact by 2029.

The School needs to show how the body of evidence is being applied as this will be of great interest to the Government.

We are working on this via • Research collections • Evidence week in Parliament • Responses to parliamentary enquiries • Economic analyses

The Knowledge Exchange Broker plays a unique role and suggested could expand through a national brokerage.

The KEB is working on expanding national (as well as local) networks. e.g., by broadening invites to last ASM.

Feedback (you said)

Action (we did)

Reframe communications, PR, public affairs, and marketing as strategic assets, not operational costs; they need greater investment as play an important role in positioning the School as a public health leader.

We have recruited a Comms Assistant to free up time for our Comms Manager to take a more strategic approach to our comms. Jennifer Walters (NIHR Head of Comms) gave a keynote at the Annual ResNet meeting 2026.

Highlighted the meta-synthesis for impact acceleration for feedback to the Executive Group.

Planning is underway for the metasynthesis. Deputy Director, Prof Steve Cummins is leading on this work (more in the meeting). The meta-synthesis will be supported by the SPHR KEB.

TDPs are excellent – should market them effectively to a wider audience.

Thank you, we are working on this. We recruited 7 TDPs in June 2026. We have the option to do more during the extension period.

Linkage between other NIHR investments – including PHIRST and HDRCs. There was a discussion on the new Wellcome Research Data School/National Data Service which will be launched to enable those at local level to access common data sets. There is an opportunity to bring in SPHR expertise and influence into its development.

We are considering this. Focus has been on planning research and capacity building activity 2027-2029. Our Data AfRI and the CYPF cross-cutting data project are focussed on data linkage. We are keen to look for opportunity to bring in SPHR expertise and influence into its development. We would welcome advice from Advisory Board colleagues to help us.

Suggested next year’s focus to include methodological innovations as will be valuable to showcase and discuss.

We acknowledge that our work in methodological innovation is important, but we have chosen to focus on research during the extension and plans for research evidence synthesis at the meeting.

Feedback (you said)

Action (we did)

The School needs to act on wider social determinants – the economic analysis element will be of importance.

Wider social determinants are central to SPHR research, this will continue during the extension period.

Connection – use the PAN more effectively to enhance networking.

The PAN is working effectively to enhance networking across the School and with our trainees and early career researchers e.g. via the PAN/YPAN buddy system.

Use the two-year extension to understand the public health ecosystem and plan effectively.

Thank you, we are working on this through our involvement in workshops with NIHR/DHSC colleagues.

Suggested developing a Theory of Change for SPHR & including it in the business plan.

Thank you, time constraints in submitting the Business Plan Addendum to obtain a VTC from NIHR meant that this was not possible.

“The School's focus on public health prevention directly supports the ‘treatment to prevention’ shift of the Government’s 10-year Health Plan, while also contributing significantly to those of 'hospital to community' and 'analogue to digital' through frameworks such as the Neighbourhood Health research.” NIHR/DHSC in feedback on SPHR Annual Report 2025/26

Research programmes Overview We have four intersecting research programmes that take account of the public health research priorities, expertise and interests of the nine SPHR members. SPHR aims for research excellence and for methodological innovation in public health improvement research including developing and applying methods for economic evaluation of public health action. You can find out more about our research programmes in Paper 3 (SPHR Annual Report).

Health inequalities The Health inequalities programme aims to produce high-quality evidence to support a step change in action on the social inequalities driving health inequalities. The programme is evaluating the equity impacts of national and local policy and action and using innovative approaches to move knowledge into action in a timely and effective way. It adopts an intersectional equity lens which places emphasis on (i) the interactions between factors such as gender, ethnicity, social class, age, disability, sexuality and place (ii) the structural determinants of health inequalities particularly material conditions and social power structures operating via discrimination in policies and institutions and (iii) a commitment to inclusive, co-produced research with communities of interest bearing the brunt of the social and health inequalities.

Healthy places, healthy planet The Healthy places, healthy planet programme aims to investigate how to make the places we live in healthier and better for the environment. The programme aims to generate robust evidence to support policy, practice and community activities aimed at improving population health, health and environmental equity, and environmental

sustainability.. The programme applies this aim to the following intersecting topic areas: (i) Healthy Places: Place-based levers to modify commercial determinants of health. (ii) Healthy Planet: Place-based levers to modify environmental sustainability and quality.

Public mental health The Public mental health programme aims to identify ways to reduce mental health inequalities across the life course by exploring how the settings in which people live, learn and work can support good mental health and wellbeing. The programme has three inter-linked workstreams: WS1: harnessing community assets to improve mental health and reduce inequalities; WS2: strengthening systems to support groups at risk of poor mental health and WS3: supporting mental health through schools and families.

Children, young people & families The Children, young people and families programme is adopting a multi-sectoral, multilevel approach to produce research that drives equitable, cost-effective policies , practices and interventions for child and adolescent health. The programme comprises three interlinked workstreams (WS) and two cross-cutting themes. These are: WS1: Inclusive and sustain-able environments for children’s, young people’s and families’ health and wellbeing; WS2: Healthy start for life for young children and families; WS3: Health-promoting and inclusive educational settings: Sustainable and inclusive research and interventions to build lifelong health. The programme also host a cross-cutting data project and three small-scale public involvement & engagement projects.

Areas for research innovation Areas for Research Innovation funding As part of the overall SPHR Award from DHSC/NIHR the School was awarded additional funding (£5.4m) to encourage ground-breaking innovative research (£4.4m) and to innovate in aca-demic research capacity building (£1m). £3.4m has been allocated to fund Areas for Research Innovation (AfRI).

Analysis of local authority public health finance to improve economic methods for public health

This AfRI aims to innovate in the area of decision-making approaches in times of constraint across and within organisations providing health and care services to improve population and public health in the context of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). The SPHR AfRIs are summarised below. ICSs are “local partnerships that bring health and care organisations together to develop Data linkage with public health shared plans and joined-up ser-vices” (NHS England): Local Authorities, NHS perspectives organisations (including Integrated Care The significant health challenges being faced Boards) and the Voluntary, Community, Faith by the UK need data-informed strategies. and Social Enterprise (VCSFE) sector. The There is now a considerable amount of data work concentrates specifically on the impact on our health and the things which influence of severely con-strained and ‘real-terms’ cuts it. ‘Data linkage with public health in resources on public health decisionperspectives’ aims to develop methods and making and means by which that might be tools so that researchers can better use data addressed, by developing formulae based on to understand and improve our health. One routine data for use in re-source allocation, issue with lots of current data systems is that rather than time- and resource-intensive they often exist alone and are difficult to link priority setting frameworks with high data together. This is a major issue as we know requirements. that there are a huge range of factors influencing our health, from early life Innovation in involvement experiences and circumstances, to local government decisions, to a range of features The overall aim of this AfRI is to further the science and practice of public involvement of the physical and social environment. and engagement, and to support and inform Being able to look at these in combination and use different approaches in combination greater and more meaningful involvement in public health research by under-represented will allow us to do more informative and and under-served populations. impactful research. We want to know more about the best and Innovations in Qualitative most creative ways to engage public Research Methods: partners in research. We will explore how we can work with people with many different Transforming Public Health experiences and backgrounds to take part Research Approaches and and contribute to public health research.

Perspectives (I-QUEST-PH)

The overarching aim of this AfRI is to explore and advance innovations and adaptations in qualitative research methods to better address the unique demands of public health research, policy, and practice, ultimately enhancing the relevance, inclusivity, and impact of qualitative research in these fields.

Emergent public health priorities In the SPHR Business Plan, we agreed to reserve £1 million in Emergent Public Health Priorities (EPHP) funding to allow us to respond to emergent opportunities such as natural experiments, including policy interventions, aligned to our expertise and interests.

Supporting tobacco and vaping policymaking by including youth voices in local authority responses to new national legislation – aims to understand how local authorities can effectively incorporate young people’s voices into policies. This will help ensure policies are equitable and effective.

We continue to be alert to policy priorities and evaluative opportunities emerging from new policy initiatives.

Implementing new school food standards in secondary schools: Pre-implementation data to inform future evaluations (INSPIRE) - The imminent implementation of the new School Funded projects Food Standards (SFS) creates a unique opportunity to collect baseline data to assess Understanding representations of ultrachanges before and after the policy change. processed foods in the UK media: a thematic This project will provide timely evidence for content analysis – in response to the local and national decision makers increase in media coverage of ultraresponsible for developing and implementing processed foods that could impact the public the new SFS. These insights will help better and policymaker’s perceptions of UPF. meet the needs of schools and pupils and The cost implications of ultra-processed and inform what local or national support may be needed for successful implementation. less processed food consumption in UK adults and children – addresses a major gap Expansion of water fluoridation in North East in knowledge by evaluating the cost England: scoping to identify gaps and differences between diets with various opportunities for research from this public consumptions levels of UPFs and less health policy – Community water fluoridation processed foods in UK adults and children. is a well-established upstream public health Exploring the impact of family size on child health outcomes and service use - This project will provide robust, population-level evidence on the health and social care outcomes of children living in families affected by welfare policies. The results from will help influence policy decisions about welfare reform.

Qualitative case study and evaluability assessment of Local Authority Cities of Sanctuary – pathways to health and how we can assess them – many local authorities have developed and implemented city of sanctuary strategies. This project is evaluating how effective these are and identify good practice. This will help inform action on public health oriented local policies for people seeking sanctuary.

intervention for caries prevention. There is a strong evidence base to show the safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation. This project has been commissioned in response to the upcoming policy to expand water fluoridation in North East England. It is jointly funded with the NIHR Public Health Policy Research Unit (PRU).

Finance Finance The School was awarded £29.9M from 2022–2027 and £11.2M for the extension 20272029, allocated to activity as shown below. We have also been awarded an inflationary uplift of 2.39% (£652k) and funding for pre-application support awards (£180k) bringing total award for SPHR to £41.93M (with additional £10M for Prevention Research Programme bringing total to more than £51.9M).

Extension to 2029 In summer 2025, SPHR received notification from NIHR/DHSC that the School would be extended by two years to 31st March 2029 with additional funding of £11.2m (£2.4m of this is ringfenced for capacity building activity). A reminder of the ask from NIHR/DHSC for the extension period. • Responsiveness to emerging Government priorities: All research funded by the School is expected to align with the Government’s health and growth missions and the 10year Health Plan • Flexible funding: A designated percentage of funding to be ringfenced to address evolving policy and practice priorities. • Encouragement of ambitious research: The School shall promote and support ambitious research that addresses significant evidence gaps. • Consider expanding capacity building and funding opportunities to individuals beyond the School's immediate membership.

“The School continues to demonstrate high scientific quality, extensive policy translation, robust cross-infrastructure collaboration and strong financial leverage.” NIHR/DHSC in feedback on SPHR Annual Report 2025/26

Impact Introduction impact

NIHR Annual Report

We have a Strategy for Impact, this has been adopted in SPHR on the understanding that everyone has their part to play in creating and supporting the impact of the School. We have an implementation plan for this strategy that contains both short- and long-term goals to ensure we maximise the beneficial impact of SPHR activity. We are continually developing the implementation plan to progress the impact we have. Following a recommendation from the SPHR Advisory Board to ensure that we maximise the impact of work from across the quinquennia (2012–date), we established the SPHR Impact Accelerator Awards. These awards aim to support development and realisation of impact from SPHR research. We have commissioned 15 projects to date. We continue to disseminate research findings, for example, via our website, publications, impact case studies, research briefings and at our Annual Scientific Meetings.

The School’s work on a parliamentary report highlighting a link between health inequalities and food insecurity was mentioned in the impact section of the NIHR 2025/2026 Annual Report

Impact highlights

In November 2025, SPHR researchers attended Evidence Week in Parliament with Sense about Science to present research on restricting the advertisement of unhealthy products. Read the Research briefing and Blog. Watch the video below

New for 2026 – Research collections Over the past decade, the School has built an extensive library of public health research. The new research collections sorts our research by key topic areas. The research collections have been expertly curated to help you find what you are looking for and see how our research is making a difference. Explore research collections

Young men’s mental health The SPHR Young men, mental health and community services project has worked with community researchers to gather new evidence about disadvantaged young men’s understandings and experiences of mental health and the ways in which community resources impact their mental health. Read news story. BBC News coverage. BBC Sounds coverage

Unhealthy food and drink advertising: Presenting evidence in UK Parliament

Evidence submitted to government inquiries The SPHR Living with housing insecurity project has contributed to a parliamentary call for evidence on housing conditions in England and proposed reforms to the Decent Homes Standards. Read their published evidence: UK Parliament Committee Evidence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5_bD6kAfcQ

Impact highlights In the news Can apps help our diets be healthier and more sustainable? SPHR research has found that health apps play a key role in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and reducing meat consumption, bringing us closer to diets low in greenhouse gas emissions. Read SPHR story. Read NIHR story Why safer spaces matter for young people’s physical activity Read story in The Conversation about the SPHR Physical activity insecurity project.

Far from home In March, the SPHR Far from home resource was shortlisted for the V&A Awards Adult Factual Category. The Far from home illustrated booklet shares families lived experiences of housing insecurity. It highlights the wide-ranging impacts of housing insecurity and raises awareness of the urgent need to prioritise safe, stable housing and better support for families. The report draws on interviews with parents and children, capturing their stories in an accessible and engaging way. SPHR researchers worked with artist Maisy Summer to produce the booklet.

12 days of impact In December, we ran a special Christmas campaign showcasing 12 examples of great impact from the School. These impact stories highlight how we’re making a difference to policy and practice and benefitting people and society. Find out more

Impact highlights Getting around is hard work – active and sustainable travel in rural coastal places The SPHR COAST project have produced a new video, blog, policy briefing and collection of stories about people’s experienced of getting around in rural places.

New recommendations and free toolkit for supporting maternity services The SPHR SEAMS project – supporting engagement with and access to maternity services – explored the barriers that pregnant women face when trying to access maternity care. Their research identifies a range of challenges faced by pregnant women and people. Researchers have now produced new freely available toolkits of recommendations tailored to practitioners and policymakers to help improve access to maternity services.

Resource cards to help people with learning disabilities New resource cards co-created to start conversations about belonging for people with learning disabilities to help drive action and a greater sense of belonging. The SPHR ‘Show me how and where you belong’ project explored the experiences of diverse groups of people with learning disabilities. Feeling like you belong is a key aspect of human experience. There are strong links between the sense of belonging and good overall health. People with learning disabilities experience less belonging, they also experience stark intersectional differences in health outcomes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWPSkZDAcUk

“My aim for these co-developed recommendations is to help policy makers and practitioners implement actionable solutions, to reduce barriers to accessing maternity services, and to help improve birth outcomes for all women.” Dr Kerry Brennan-Tovey

Impact highlights Good school holiday provision A new, free toolkit has been developed by SPHR researchers in collaboration with those delivering and using the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme to help deliver good school holiday provision. The guidance is a resource for HAF commissioners, coordinators and providers. The toolkit includes a range of resources for providers and coordinators of government-funded school holiday programmes. Explore the guidance to see examples of best practice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ15Zeyjgdw

New co-produced animation and training workshop on young women’s healthcare experiences SPHR researchers have co-produced an animation with young women and healthcare professionals to improve healthcare experiences. This project, which is jointly funded by SPHR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgy6JxaDsew&t=3s and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) brought together an interdisciplinary Implementation of EDI team to co-produce an animation aimed at responding to gendered healthcare strategies within the NIHR inequalities. Young women regularly feel infrastructure dismissed or have negative healthcare experiences, leading to healthcare avoidance A recent review of how teams in NIHR centres across England planned, funded, and and contributing to inequalities in health outcomes. In recognising this equity issue, we actioned their EDI plans has helped to inform NIHR’s recent research inclusion as a formal ran a project in 2025 to create a training resource to support healthcare professionals condition of funding policy change. Read the blog, briefing, executive summary and report. with their practice with young women. We also held a webinar in June which 62 First dental steps people attended. See the presentation slides and watch the webinar. The ‘First Dental Steps’ research team have tailored their intervention to suit the needs of different communities that are at a greater risk of dental caries, such as traveller communities, asylum seekers and refugees, minority ethnic groups such as Asian/Asian British, or families engaging with Family Nurse Partnership. Read the Impact Case Study

Policy impact Overton data and graphs The Overton Index is the world's largest policy and grey literature database. It tracks policy documents and grey literature (33+ million documents) from across the world. We have been using Overton to analyse and track the policy impacts associated with SPHR activity.

Number of policy citations per year by organisation type (based on DOIs. Note: 2026 incomplete)

Number of Policy Citations

450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Year Government ThinkTank Other SPHR research is cited across a wide range of policy topics and 74.5% of articles in the most recent Overton search were cited more than once.

Example policy document topics/themes citing SPHR research (based on DOIs, 2014-2026, Note: 2026 is incomplete)

600 500 400 300 200 0

Health/Public Health Health care Mental health Poverty Education Obesity Mental disorder Health equity Preventive healthcare Economic inequality Social issues Child Social determinants… Well-being Behaviour Employment Chronic condition Major depressive… Evaluation Violence Cost of living Disability Adolescence Sustainability Psychology Substance abuse COVID-19 pandemic Social inequality Healthy diet Community

100

Sense about Science Evidence Week SPHR researchers present evidence in Parliament calling for policy changes to turn the tide on housing insecurity Researchers from the SPHR Living with housing insecurity project, led by Hannah Fairbrother, Anne-Marie Burn and Sarah Rodgers, met with Members of Parliament and peers in Westminster on Tuesday 7th July to present their latest evidence on preventing housing insecurity.

information to inform the decisions they make on future policies for housing reforms. The team said: “We are committed to translating academic research into actionable insights for policymakers to help families experiencing housing insecurity. Equipping local and national policymakers with evidence is essential to inform targeted strategies and address the structural causes of housing insecurity.”

Read the blog: Presenting in Parliament: Our Poor living conditions have an immediate experience at Evidence Week 2026 and lasting impact on families. Over 160,000 children are currently living in temporary accommodation. As part of Evidence Week in Parliament, SPHR researchers spoke to MPs, peers and parliamentarians about how housing insecurity impacts families and what local authorities can do to better identify and support those most at risk. Researchers highlighted the need to better address the root causes of housing insecurity and review current policies using the latest available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRQE-ygWhR0 evidence. The key recommendations are to: • Introduce measures that ensure rental costs are affordable • Prioritise funding for prevention and early intervention work at the local authority level • Accelerate housing quality reform to ensure homes meet a decent standard • Use a new freely available housing insecurity risk index researchers have developed as a tool to target prevention • Set up an equal academic-government partnership to allow the individual level linkage of health, housing and other wider determinants of health to investigate whole complex systems. The project team presented these recommendations to, amongst others, Professor Dame Angela McLean, Baroness Browning, Dr Lauren Sullivan MP, Kim Johnson MP, Lord Mair, and Dr Allison Gardner MP equipping them with vital

Impact case studies Inclusive Neighbourhood Health increasing understanding. The project team A key focus of the Government’s 10-year health plan is to shift care from ‘hospital to community’. Providing access to services and support more locally, where and when individuals need it, should improve outcomes, provide more joined-up care and reduce the burden on acute services. Neighbourhood health places the individual at the centre of their health and care and the Government’s recent neighbourhood health framework is designed to ‘to give power to people’ and make local services more effective and useful. SPHR research has consistently demonstrated the value of neighbourhood health approaches and, in particular, the positive impact local community groups have.

Two examples which focus on how to best to support and empower ethnic minorities are:

conducted a review and worked in partnership with Unity Gym (based in Sheffield) to create a series of recommendations informing policy and practice.

CLARITY+ Collective reimagining of community-led public health evaluation from the perspective of racially minoritised communities People from ethnic minority backgrounds often experience worse health outcomes than the white British population. There are many community organisations across the UK supporting people from ethnic minority backgrounds. However, their work is not properly valued and is also poorly understood. The CLARITY+ project has brought together community organisations serving people from ethnic minority communities in Sheffield, Rotherham, Birmingham, Dudley and Coventry to share what they consider their most successful/unsuccessful initiatives. Together they are designing and trying out new activities and ensuring that the work community organisations do is seen and valued. Community and researcher relationships in this, and previous projects (e.g., in the CLARITY project), have fostered the inclusion of individuals from minority ethnic groups in health research, encouraged greater participation and has enabled partnerships to develop into strong and trusted relationships.

Both the research projects have directly benefited community-led organisations working to improve the health of racially Common mental health conditions, like anxiety minoritised communities across the Midlands and depression, have risen and suicide is now and the North of England, and provided the biggest killer of men under 50. evidence of vital role the organisations Disadvantaged young men have undertake. disproportionately poorer mental health These projects are supporting government outcomes and there are also clear racial priorities to shift care towards prevention, disparities in mental health. tackle health inequalities, and invest in local, Little is known about how young men, place-based (neighbourhood health) support particularly from minoritised groups, manage models. heir mental health and access support within Read the impact case study: Inclusive their communities but our research is Neighbourhood Health Improving mental health outcomes for disadvantaged young men

Voluntary Sector Evaluation Scheme (VoySES) Background The NIHR SPHR and People’s Health Trust are collaborating together on a pilot scheme that is evaluating voluntary sector initiatives which are developed and delivered by communities. The results of the evaluation will help to identify voluntary sector initiatives that have the potential to improve public health and could be replicated in other areas. People’s Health Trust is a charity addressing health inequalities through the building blocks of health. Their work focuses on funding and support for communities experiencing the great marginalisation and disadvantage and using evidence and learning to influence change locally and nationally. The two VoySES teams are: • Discrimination and health • Good work for young people’s mental health

Update on good work for young people’s mental health The People’s Health Trust funded three organisations supporting young people's mental health to offer Individual Placement Support (IPS) to help young people find and maintain good quality employment. IPS is an evidence-based model designed to help people find and keep competitive and suitable jobs and support them while they're working. The evaluation is using a mixed methods approach Qualitative Interviews and focus groups with: organisations, young people receiving IPS, employing organisations ( Exploring: expectations, local context, and perspectives on the program's acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness) Quantitative

Update on Discrimination and health SPHR researchers are evaluating the People’s Health Trust’s Discrimination and Health programme, which aims to help people challenge their experiences of discrimination and its health harms.

Analysis of key outcome measures (mental health and employment outcomes) Economic evaluation of the costing of IPS delivery model PPIE Working with PAG and YPAG (refined and selected data collections methods/tools)

The evaluation aims to Understand diverse experiences of everyday and lifetime discrimination and impacts on health. Create spaces for community-level learning and knowledge exchange. Identify best practices for communities to resist discrimination and mitigate against health harms. Through this work, we are advancing understanding of how research on discrimination itself can challenge the exploitative relationships that underpin discrimination.

Related items VONNE blog: Understanding evaluation: What it is and why it matters for the VCSE sector

Training

Introduction We continue to make substantial progress in meeting the aims and objectives of our research capacity development programme. This year we have a call out for Post-doctoral Launching Fellowships and Transdisciplinary fellowships with successful applicants to start by April 2027. We are also inviting members to apply for our Pre-application Support Fund.

ASM 2026

Annual SPHR Trainee Event Our current cohort of trainees gathered for a two-day event aimed to equip participants with the skills and confidence to enhance their career prospects through tailored CV writing and effective interview preparation.

SPHR Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) trainee highlights • Showcased 6 posters from ResNet holders and summer internships • Showcased 6 lightning talks from PhD students, predoctoral and launching fellows. • Presented 15 digital stories from PhD students, predoctoral and launching fellows.

Digital stories Summer Internship trainees and pre-doctoral students to present a digital story at the ASM. Digital story telling is the creation of personal, first-person narratives using a mix of voice, images, and simple video editing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2 FxefRH57D0

Training News and highlights

12 undergraduate summer interns joined us from across 8 members over the summer. They undertook a diverse range of projects spanning themes including: • Food and nutrition • Health inequalities • Children and young people’s health • Public involvement and engagement • Innovation in public health research and practice

SPHR trainee Jennie Parnham wins NIHR Impact Award SPHR trainee Jennie Parnham has been awarded an Early Career Researcher Impact Prize by NIHR. Watch Jennie’s digital story.

Trainee blog highlights • SPHR PhD student Rosalyn Arnold completed a four-month summer placement in Toronto • After a successful grant application, SPHR PhD trainee, Helen Little attended the seventeenth NIHR Annual Doctoral Training Camp. • This year, two SPHR researchers, Liam Spencer and Emily Widnall completed a PhD by publication • Reflections on the LA SPARC: Catherine Jacobs • Reflections from my PhD: Improving the mental health of young people through early intervention and prevention • Beyond health: what we know (and don’t yet know) about ultra-processed foods

Training impact Seeing Parliament in action: Lizzy Winstone Dr Lizzy Winstone (SPHR Post-doc launching fellow) was successful in being selected for the Royal Society Pairing Scheme, which aims to build stronger links between researchers and policymakers. She was paired with, and assisted, Ian Sollom MP in Parliament in March. Read her blog

Constructing a digital story…with LEGO? SPHR trainee Libby Haynes won the digital story award at the School’s ASM for her video about building healthy workplaces for young adults – made entirely using Lego. The digital story also featured in the NIHR’s Gamechanger series as part of its ‘Healthier working lives‘ topic.

Researchers in the making podcast ‘Researchers in the making’ is a podcast by SPHR trainees Karen and Charan. In the podcast, they discuss the ins and outs of doing a PhD in public health research. From the intricacies of research, to the ups and downs of academic life, they share their experiences in an honest, down-to-earth way. They also welcome fellow researchers to discuss their latest discoveries, giving listeners a front-row seat to emerging public health research. Karen and Charan have now recorded and published 21 episodes including a live episode recorded at the 2026 ResNet day. To date, the series has had 815 plays and downloads plays and downloads and has an audience of 432 people. Find out more and listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZtvrVW2jWc

Training highlights

NIHR Three Research Schools Prevention Research Programme

Programme in numbers

The Three Schools Prevention Research Programme leverages expertise from across the Three Schools to conduct research targeting the upstream determinants of health and wellbeing (including physical, mental and social aspects). This refers to primary and secondary research across the spectrum of prevention-related practice, across different groups, settings and using a range of methodologies. Research involves any aspect of prevention support or care in related health and social care services. The research aims to support communities, families, and individuals, not only in adopting healthier behaviours, but also in maintaining independence, safety, reducing loneliness and isolation, and reducing the impacts of disability, leading to improvements in public, patient, service user, and carer outcomes.

23 Research grants

8 Development grants 5 Follow on projects 6 Practice evaluation scheme 15 Career Development Awards 6 Pre-doc fellowships 6 Post-doc fellowships 8 Pre-application support 9 Publications £400k Leveraged funding

The NIHR Three Schools Prevention Research Programme was granted £10m to implement a comprehensive prevention research programme and conduct capacitybuilding activities from 2023 to 2027, the programme has recently been granted a nocost extension to 30th September 2028. The programme currently has live calls for prevention programme research project impact accelerator awards, transdisciplinary research placements and pre-application support funding. Events such as the Three Schools’ Early Career Researcher (ECR) meeting and the first programme showcase have strengthened networking, communication skills, and collaboration across disciplines. The next ECR meeting and second showcase have been scheduled for 8th & 9th February 2027.

Impact case study The Expanding access to prevention in farmers development grant continues to have impact with the Holsworthy Farmers Health Hub being recognised with the “Working Together Differently Award” at the Southwest Integrated Personal Care Awards held in November 2025. This achievement celebrates both the success of the Health Hub since its establishment and the progressive work emerging through this NIHR Three Research Schools Prevention Research Programme: Celebrating success: Farmers Health Hub wins “Working Together Differently” Award.

NIHR Three Research Schools Dementia Research Programme

Mental Health Research Programme

The Three Schools Dementia Research Programme aims to develop the evidence base for dementia-related practice in England by commissioning and conducting high-quality research. The programme builds on research within each School and carries out research to address key gaps in the evidence base, working collaboratively across primary care, public health and social care.

The Three Schools Mental Health Research Programme concluded on 31st March 2026. Together, the Three Schools brought expertise in mental health, learning disability and autism research to generate high-quality evidence to improve health and wellbeing in underserved populations. Their collaborative approach supported a more holistic view of mental health, bringing together evidence to inform individuals, families, practitioners and policymakers.

The Dementia Programme continues to strengthen its research capacity and collaborative activity across the dementia research community. Five post-doctoral fellowships have recently been awarded.

A report has been published featuring case studies from programme award holders. The Three NIHR Research Schools’ Mental Health Programme has shown what is possible when research is cross-disciplinary, Looking ahead, an early/mid career collaborative and co-produced with people Neighbourhood Health and Implementation who live with mental health challenges every Workshop is planned for 11th November 2026 day. at Queen Mary University of London. The next Dementia Programme Research Showcase is scheduled for 22nd April 2027 in York. The showcase will provide an opportunity to highlight emerging research across the programme, strengthen connections between researchers and collaborators, and identify opportunities for future collaboration.

Click on the images below to find out more about other activities across the School