RESEARCH PILLARS

Our research focuses on three pillars:

• Preventative Health and Exercise and Nutritional Interventions – examines innovative exercise strategies, behavioural interventions and optimal nutrition to promote physical activity and wellbeing.
• Public health, Inequalities and Marginalised Populations – explores how health inequalities affect individuals, communities, service providers and organisations, and approaches for addressing and overcoming these challenges.
• Innovative Health and Complex Interventions – aims to improve mental and physical health through the application of optimised and cutting-edge and digital and technical interventions.

Through these research pillars, we are tackling global challenges around sedentarism, malnutrition, poverty and social justice. Our research looks at shaping interventions that have impacts on a health, educational, behavioural, economic and social basis, at local, national and international levels. We test innovative interventions and explore how to effectively bridge the interface between hospital, home and other community care services. Our evidence makes the case for financially viable solutions to address the significant health and social care challenges we’re facing and ultimately enable people to live longer, happier and healthier lives.

Our research pillars are complemented with expertise in research methods, evaluation of change with pace and scale, health economics, implementation science, statistics and patient and public involvement. Common aspects across these three areas are a focus on translational interdisciplinary research, working closely in partnership with both end-users/patients and service providers to co-create and evaluate either new interventions, services, competency frameworks and care pathways that improve care quality, service user experience, patient outcomes and health inequalities. It is anticipated that such inequalities will be magnified in a post pandemic environment. Integrated Health and Social Care is supporting regional economic growth via engagement with the Purposeful Health Growth Accelerator is funded by Research England, Development Fund, enabling SMEs access to Northumbria University’s research expertise in health, wellness and care. The programme was launched in September 2020 in partnership with NEL Fund Managers and has since co-hosted two events with AHSN engaging over 80 regional SMEs. Interest in the growth-coaching programme delivered by NEL and innovation support delivered by Northumbria University have been over-subscribed.

Find out more about our research pillars below.