Co-operation at the Local Level for Public Health improvement. Dr Erica Gadsby

1. www.kent.ac.uk/chss
Centre for Health Services Studies
Dr Erica Gadsby
July 2015
Co-operation at the Local Level
for Public Health improvement

2. Centre for Health Services Studies www.kent.ac.uk/chss ‹#›

3. Centre for Health Services Studies www.kent.ac.uk/chss ‹#›
At CHSS, we aim:
• to create public health collaborations that will facilitate the
design, evaluation and implementation of complex public
health interventions.
• to build research capacity to develop and evaluate complex
public health interventions
• to provide education and training opportunities to equip local
stakeholders with the skills to engage in the design,
evaluation and implementation of complex public health
interventions
Research co-production is one of the most effective ways to
ensure research impact.

4. Centre for Health Services Studies www.kent.ac.uk/chss ‹#›
We do this by:
• Supporting and advising health care staff to develop and
undertake research projects
• Offering the opportunity to study with us at Undergraduate,
Postgraduate and PhD level (e.g. MSc in Applied Health
Research)
• Investing in public engagement and patient and public
involvement in research
• Investing in local agencies to develop long-term
collaborations

5. Centre for Health Services Studies www.kent.ac.uk/chss ‹#›
Our public health collaborations: Kent County Council
• Agreement between Kent Public Health and CHSS
regarding the provision of operational public health
research, development and support
• Appointment by Kent Public Health of skilled public health
researchers
• Work towards a joint research team, with joint leadership
and support provided by CHSS
 On-site support in planning interventions and evaluations
 Opportunities for joint research funding applications
 Research capacity strengthening

6. Centre for Health Services Studies www.kent.ac.uk/chss ‹#›
Our public health collaborations: Medway Council
• Two-year joint funded programme of work to assess Medway’s
healthy weight services and help them develop a ‘whole systems
approach’ to healthy weight
 Conducted series of Evaluability Assessments to prioritise and guide
evaluation activities
 Provided service improvement recommendations
 Delivering support on aspects of programme development, such as
needs assessments and use of theories to inform intervention design
 Conducting full evaluations where useful/feasible
 Advising on design of new interventions
 Collaborating on design of overall strategic approach to healthy
weight

7. Centre for Health Services Studies www.kent.ac.uk/chss ‹#›
Our public health collaborations: London Borough
• 4-year evaluation of a complex community-based pilot to
tackle childhood obesity
• Collaboratively designing evaluation framework based on
theory of change
• Taking continuous learning approach, where lessons are
shared to optimise the design and outcomes of the
intervention

8. www.kent.ac.uk/chss
Centre for Health Services Studies
Any questions?