Research impact

Knowledge mobilisation helps us bridge the gap between what we know from research evidence and what we do in practice. It’s important as we know that right now 2 in 5 patients aren’t being treated using the best available evidence.

We aim for our research to be responsive to the needs of patients and the community and inform decision-making by public health professionals, policy makers, and those involved in operational delivery. Key stakeholders, such as UKHSA, commissioners, healthcare providers, third sector organisations, and policy makers will be engaged to identify research questions that address policy and practice needs, and ultimately inform policy and practice innovation. Ongoing engagement will take place via regular interactions with stakeholders. This will facilitate ongoing knowledge exchange and ensure that the research outputs are shared in the right format at the right time with the right audience to maximise their impact. Our research proposals will include information on how knowledge mobilisation has informed the proposal and how the findings are going to be disseminated to whom.

Our research has been responsive to the Mpox outbreak and COVID-19. For example, our researchers worked with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to capture the experience and impact of Mpox on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) to inform the vaccination strategy. We also disseminated findings on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual health and access to SHS to guide the development of tailored and effective interventions.

Additionally, our work aims to support the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. For example, we have published systematic reviews and analyses of the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in key population groups, prompting further research into underserved populations. Findings have been shared with key stakeholders and incorporated into public health tools.

If you would like to learn more about our research and research impact, please sign up for our quarterly research round up.