Tel: +44 (0) 207 927 2366
The aim of the Department is to carry out research that helps to improve the quality, organisation and management of health services and systems. This work covers the three essential stages required to improve health care at the service, organisational and national level:
- studies to establish the most effective practices and policies, including how care can be best organised and delivered
- research assessing the quality of existing services and policies
- establishing how services and policies can be improved to achieve more resilient systems.
We conduct research aiming to understand how health services and systems behave, alongside applied research to support clinicians, managers, and policymakers. Our work brings together a wide range of methods, including quantitative evaluation, policy analysis and qualitative studies, and teams from a wide range of disciplines.
In addition to running a large number of research projects, we also run the Clinical Effectiveness Unit at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and support a similar unit at the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecology.
HSRP is home to the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit (PIRU) and the Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Systems and Commissioning (PRUComm); we are also partner in the Quality Safety and Outcomes Policy Research Unit (QSO PRU) and host one of the two UK offices of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
While most of our research focuses on high-income countries, the UK in particular, an increasing portfolio of work addresses health system challenges in low resource settings, with a focus on mental health and non-communicable diseases, with close links to the LSHTM’s Centre for Global Chronic Conditions. We also
We host the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy. The journal presents the latest scientific research, insightful overviews and reflections on underlying issues, and innovative, thought-provoking contributions from leading academics and policymakers.
Publications by department staff can be found in the School’s online publications repository.
Watch the 37th Annual Health Services Research Lecture: Professor Roland Bal.