Frequently Asked Questions

Study Design

4.1 What form of research will be funded?
4.2 What type of studies will the Public Health Research programme fund?
4.3 Will the programme fund methodological research?
4.4 Where can I get advice on how to develop my proposal for the Public Health Research programme?
4.5 Are there any restrictions on what can be included as secondary outcomes?
4.6 May my study use surrogate outcomes?

4.1 What form of research will be funded?
The Public Health Research programme will fund primary research and evidence syntheses that evaluate the effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness of public health interventions in non-NHS settings in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  Broader application, as well as acceptability to the target community and wider society, is important to the impact and sustainability of the intervention.  Investigations of these aspects and models that incorporate evaluation of process as well as outcome will be encouraged, as will research that seeks to address public health inequalities.   
Primary research may include randomised control trials, natural experiments, registry/database studies, cost-effectiveness studies and qualitative studies (including sociological and anthropological investigations). Evidence synthesis may include systematic reviews, modelling of long-term outcomes and economic evaluations.

The PHR programme defines feasibility and pilot studies in the same way as several other NIHR programmes. This definition can be found on the NETSCC glossary web page.  Where appropriate, pilot and feasibility studies may be funded. You may apply to include a pilot and/ or feasibility study as part of your main application, or to apply for funding for these separately if you feel that this is more appropriate.
Aetiological epidemiology and studies of the natural history of disease will not normally be funded.

4.2 What type of studies will the Public Health Research programme fund?
The Public Health Research programme will fund studies that evaluate public health interventions implemented outside the NHS. The scope of the Public Health Research programme will be multi-disciplinary and broad: it will cover public health interventions ranging from, for example, social marketing for the promotion of safer sex, to speed humps for the prevention of road traffic accidents and could include multifactorial interventions.

4.3 Will the programme fund methodological research?
This depends on the primary purpose of the research.  Methods development, particularly in the context of a specific study, is often, and should continue to be, undertaken alongside other health sciences research projects.

Within the framework of the coordinated strategies of the NIHR and the MRC, methodological research is primarily funded by the MRC-NIHR Methodology Research Programme (MRP). The MRP will be the funding mechanism for all MRC and NIHR methodological research projects where the primary purpose of the research is methods development and where the likely outputs of the research are generalisable beyond a specific case-study. Embedded methodological research often required to take forward a particular project or programme will continue to be funded by MRC and NIHR through their funding mechanisms for project or programme support.

Based on this, you would need to make a judgement on whether to submit to the PHR programme or the MRP. Further details of the MRP are available at:

http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Fundingopportunities/Initiatives/MRP/index.htm

4.4 Where can I get advice on how to develop my proposal for the Public Health Research programme?
Researchers based in England seeking help in developing their research proposals for submission to NIHR funding streams or other national bodies may wish to contact their local NIHR Research Design Service (RDS). Further information, including contact details, are available from:

www.nihr.ac.uk/infrastructure

Researchers are also encouraged to refer to the MRC’s guidance on developing and evaluating complex interventions when writing their proposals:
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Utilities

4.5 Are there any restrictions on what can be included as secondary outcomes?
No, however you must ensure that all secondary outcomes are clearly linked to achieving the research objectives, and that the collection of data represents good value for money.  In your application, you must convince the board that you have the necessary skills, expertise and capacity to collect, analyse and report all data collected.

4.6 May my study use surrogate outcomes?

While the programme generally prefers outcomes which are directly relevant to individuals or populations, and which describe health outcomes, we recognise that this may not always be possible. If this is the case then we would rather fund a study which uses surrogate outcomes than ignore a difficult research area.

Should you propose surrogate outcomes, then the Board would usually expect to see a careful justification of your choice, including

• Why a direct health outcome measure is not possible
• An evidence based connection between the surrogate outcome you are suggesting and a patient or population level health outcome
• Consideration of other plausible surrogate outcomes, and a justification of why the selected outcome should be preferred.

You may like to consider Taylor and Elston: The use of surrogate outcomes in model-based cost-effectiveness analyses: a survey of UK Health Technology Assessment reports Health Technology Assessment 13(8) 2009, which discusses surrogate outcomes in the context of NIHR evaluation research.