The SIPHER Consortium: Introducing the new UK hub for systems science in public health and health economic research [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Meier, Petra; Purshouse, Robin; Bain, Marion; Bambra, Clare; Bentall, Richard; Birkin, Mark; Brazier, John; Brennan, Alan; Bryan, Mark; Cox, Julian; Fell, Greg; Goyder, Elizabeth; Heppenstall, Alison; Holmes, John; Hughes, Ceri; Ishaq, Asif; Kadirkamanathan, Visakan; Lomax, Nik; Lupton, Ruth; Paisley, Suzy; Smith, Katherine; Stewart, Ellen; Strong, Mark; Such, Elizabeth; Tsuchiya, Aki; Watkins, Craig

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.

Citation

Meier, P., Purshouse, R., Bain, M., Bambra, C., Bentall, R., Birkin, M., …Watkins, C. (2019). The SIPHER Consortium: Introducing the new UK hub for systems science in public health and health economic research [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]. Wellcome Open Research, 4, Article 174. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15534.1

• Journal Article Type: Letter
• Online Publication Date: Nov 12, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 12, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 18, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 18, 2023
• Journal: Wellcome Open Research
• Electronic ISSN: 2398-502X
• Publisher: F1000Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Article Number: 174
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15534.1
• Keywords: General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; Medicine (miscellaneous)
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/17946332
• Publisher URL: https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/4-174/v1
• Additional Information: Referee status: Indexed; Referee Report: 10.21956/wellcomeopenres.17005.r37016, Brian Castellani, Department of Sociology, Durham University, Durham, UK, 18 Nov 2019, version 1, indexed; Referee Report: 10.21956/wellcomeopenres.17005.r37014, Jane West, Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR), Bradford, UK, 25 Nov 2019, version 1, indexed; Grant Information: This work was supported by the UK Prevention Research Partnership (MR/S037578/1), which is funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Natural Environment Research Council, Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), The Health Foundation and Wellcome. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.; Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.