The goal of the Primary Care Unit is to reduce the burden of ill health by identifying and targeting behaviours that lead to chronic conditions, by improving early detection of disease and by improving the quality of health services.
Our strengths
Our research is multidisciplinary, drawing in particular on clinical epidemiology and social and behavioural science, and ranges from qualitative interviews to clinical trials set in primary care.
Particular strengths at the Unit include:
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our ability to develop interventions based on expertise in behavioural techniques and the determinants of patient and practitioner behaviour;
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we pay attention to both physical and psychosocial factors in patient health ;
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access to well-characterised cohorts;
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evaluation of interventions using both precise objective measures of behaviour and exploration of people’s experiences;
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our capacity to conduct randomised trials in primary care;
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our ability to enable assessment of important clinical endpoints through extended follow-up;
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a focus on quality improvement in health care;
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using innovative approaches to strengthen the evidence base for improving healthcare;
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our focus on addressing real concerns of patients and staff;
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a commitment to discovering what doesn’t work, as well as what does.
Delivering results for patients and service users
We deliver major impact on clinical practice and health policy through our research and our teaching. We recognise that a very wide range of stakeholders influence the translation of our research into benefit for patients and have established strong, multi-dimensional links with stakeholders and decision-makers.