Poor linkages between public health academic training and research capacity and service delivery

Academic public health research is underexploited by public health service departments for real-world application.

Academic public health specialists and researchers can be concentrated in university faculties of public health but are also often widely dispersed – throughout academia in the social sciences, life sciences, medicine, health economics and so on.

In view of the new emerging public health environment, it is uncertain how academic departments will work with public health service departments to share research for real-world application. The public health sector may not have awareness nor make full use of available evidence. This may result in public health promotion social marketing exercises being weaker than they should be, for example. The creation of formal and informal networks (for example CLARHC), between academic and practitioner public health professionals could be encouraged. Improvements in this area could be examined within public health leadership programmes.

Sources or references

• Public Health Sciences: Challenges and Opportunities. Report of the Working Group convened by the Wellcome Trust, March 2004
• “Methods for the development of NICE public health guidance”, 2nd edition, 2009
• Strengthening Public Health Research in the UK: Report of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration: Public Health Research Strategic Planning Group. June 2008

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.