Improving the evidence-base for primary care: NIHR Evidence Synthesis working group extension

Evidence synthesis informs National Guidance, provides high impact research outputs and ensures healthcare is based on the best evidence of efficacy and cost-effectiveness. This program of work involves four primary care departments in the School and a plan to deliver four systematic reviews - of high relevance to policy.

As part of our planning, we identified three priorities areas: the role of statins in the elderly; heart failure and approaches to its management; and the impact of the urban environment on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and environmental exposures that impact on health and wellbeing.

All of these conditions are of importance to the NHS. For example, heart failure is a common and costly condition affecting over 900,000 people in the UK and with 1 to 2% of health care expenditure being directed at its management.  Statins are the most commonly used drug in the UK and account for substantial drug expenditure. While the use of statins in people with established cardiovascular disease is generally uncontroversial, debate remains about their use for primary prevention, for people without cardiovascular disease. Finally, a large proportion of the population does not meet physical activity guidelines. If more people did, this could potentially save 37,000 lives a year in England; £17 billion could be saved for the NHS within 20 years because of the increased physical activity that reduces the burden of NCDs.

We want to better understand the role of the urban environment and its contribution to meeting these activity levels. A combination of clinicians, researchers with skills in evidence synthesis, statisticians, patients, members of the public and other team members, will collectively work together to deliver these four reviews. The results have the potential for significant impact on patient care within the NHS and will inform future research and the design of services.

co-applicants

Carl Heneghan, Clare Taylor  (Oxford)

Alyson Huntley, Rachel Johnson (Bristol)

Beth Stuart (Southampton)

Peter Bower, Alexander Hodkinson, Maria Panagioti, Evan Kontopantelis (Manchester)

Amount awarded: £149,650