The SIPHER Consortium: introducing the new UK hub for systems science in public health and health economic research

Meier, P. et al. (2019) The SIPHER Consortium: introducing the new UK hub for systems science in public health and health economic research. Wellcome Open Research, 4, 174. (doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15534.1) (PMID:31815191) (PMCID:PMC6880277)

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Abstract

The conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age are key drivers of health and inequalities in life chances. To maximise health and wellbeing across the whole population, we need well-coordinated action across government sectors, in areas including economic, education, welfare, labour market and housing policy. Current research struggles to offer effective decision support on the cross-sector strategic alignment of policies, and to generate evidence that gives budget holders the confidence to change the way major investment decisions are made. This open letter introduces a new research initiative in this space. The SIPHER (Systems Science in Public Health and Health Economics Research) Consortium brings together a multi-disciplinary group of scientists from across six universities, three government partners at local, regional and national level, and ten practice partner organisations. The Consortium’s vision is a shift from health policy to healthy public policy, where the wellbeing impacts of policies are a core consideration across government sectors. Researchers and policy makers will jointly tackle fundamental questions about: a) the complex causal relationships between upstream policies and wellbeing, economic and equality outcomes; b) the multi-sectoral appraisal of costs and benefits of alternative investment options; c) public values and preferences for different outcomes, and how necessary trade-offs can be negotiated; and d) creating the conditions for intelligence-led adaptive policy design that maximises progress against economic, social and health goals. Whilst our methods will be adaptable across policy topics and jurisdictions, we will initially focus on four policy areas: Inclusive Economic Growth, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Mental Wellbeing and Housing.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Version 1; Peer Review: 2 approved. This work was supported by the UK Prevention Research Partnership (MR/S037578/1).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Meier, Professor Petra and Heppenstall, Professor Alison
Creator Roles:
Meier, P.Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Writing – original draft
Authors: Meier, P., Purshouse, R., Bain, M., Bambra, C., Bentall, R., Birkin, M., Brazier, J., Brennan, A., Bryan, M., Cox, J., Fell, G., Goyder, E., Heppenstall, A., Holmes, J., Hughes, C., Ishaq, A., Kadirkamanathan, V., Lomax, N., Lupton, R., Paisley, S., Smith, K., Stewart, E., Strong, M., Such, E., Tsuchiya, A., and Watkins, C.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
Journal Name:Wellcome Open Research
Publisher:F1000Research
ISSN:2398-502X
ISSN (Online):2398-502X
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 Meier P et al.
First Published:First published in Wellcome Open Research 4: 174
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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