NIHR has announced a major investment supporting Policy Research Units. Members of the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge are part of the Policy Research Units on Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis and on Palliative and End of Life Care.
The Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis Unit will conduct research to support patients, healthcare professionals and the NHS in achieving earlier cancer detection and diagnosis. The Unit is led by Profs Yoryos Lyratzopoulos (UCL’s Epidemiology of Cancer Healthcare & Outcomes, Dept. of Behavioural Science and Health) and Brian Nicholson (Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences), with co-investigators based at the Universities of Leicester, Surrey and Oxford. Prof Steve Morris, Prof Antonis Antoniou and Dr Juliet Usher-Smith are the local co-investigators from the University of Cambridge.
The Palliative and End of Life Care Unit will conduct research to support health and social care policy-makers, NHS and Social Care organisations and health and social care professionals to provide better care for people approaching and at the end of their lives, and their familes. The Unit is led by Profs Katherine Sleeman (King’s College London) and Fliss Murtagh (University of Hull), with co-investigators based at the Universities of Lancaster and Leeds. Prof Stephen Barclay is the local co-investigator from the University of Cambridge.
We will undertake multi-disciplinary research to inform cancer and palliative care policy, supporting patients and their carers, care professionals, and policy-makers.”
– Professor Steve Morris, Primary Care Unit
Prof Morris, Head of the Primary Care Unit in Cambridge, said: “Policy Research Units provide health and social care policy-makers with access to academic expertise in various fields, to provide evidence for emerging policy needs. In both of these PRUs (Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis & Palliative and End of Life Care) we will undertake multi-disciplinary research to inform cancer and palliative care policy, supporting patients and their carers, care professionals, and policy-makers.”
Work in both Units is expected to start in the New Year.
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