Wales builds on tradition of public health excellence
Wednesday 4 June 2008
‘Wales has a fantastic tradition of epidemiological and public health work,' Director of the Cardiff Institute of Society, Health and Ethics Laurence Moore told delegates in the Welsh Assembly Government session. It was work that was locally grounded and locally relevant but international in its importance and excellence, he said.
Building on this were a number of existing and future activities, he told delegates. The Public Health Improvement Research Network (PHIRN) is a network of academics with strong engagement with policy-makers and practitioners, and its primary aim is to increase the quantity and quality of relevant public health improvement research in Wales. The Health Information Research Unit in Swansea, meanwhile, concentrated on linking data across a range of services and databases to provide a platform for conducting epidemiological studies.
There are also three forthcoming initiatives. The UKCRC Centre of Public Health Research Excellence in Cardiff, which begins its work in September, will aim to build the evidence base around what is effective in reducing health inequalities. In the first five years the focus of its work will be be on improving the health of children and young people. There will also be the creation of two new professional appointments - the Julian Tudor Hart Chair in Primary Care at Swansea University and the Archie Cochrane Chair in Public Health at Cardiff University.