Research board unveils strategy on societal health issues

The Health Research Board will address major health challenges while also putting the patient first in the research it pursues, the board declares in a five-year strategy to be launched today.

The board plans to invest €250 million over this period in an effort to address major societal health issues and also bring the delivery of healthcare to the people via care interventions and clinical trials.

Research has to be at the very core of the Irish healthcare system, the board’s chief executive, Dr Graham Love, said, ahead of today’s launch. The strategy will be released over a “webinar” at 12.30pm, with the public able to connect over its website, hrb.ie.

This latest strategy does not depart significantly from its current approach, he said. “We are in the business of keeping going. That was a key message from an international panel here last year.”

“It said we were doing well, but what was started in 2010 needs more than one five-year cycle to accomplish.”

Challenges

The strategy highlights three key areas, he said. The first is to address major health challenges in society via internationally competitive research and international collaboration.

“This will put us at the cutting edge of science,” Dr Love said. “It will be high-impact, have a longer-term horizon and will be more global.”

It will take an international approach, given many of these health challenges such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease could not be funded or solved by Ireland alone.

A second focus will be on supporting healthcare interventions and clinical trials. These would have an immediate and significant impact on patients by improving their treatments as research discoveries are brought quickly into clinical practice.

“It might be the use of a new drug or a slightly changed therapeutic approach,” he said. “The key is it is based on clinical trials and intervention studies used to discover the best treatment option.”

Social care

The third key area is addressing the research requirements of our health and social care system. “It is more near-term and meeting immediate needs in the healthcare system,” Dr Love said. In this the board was likely to work with partners in the health services and the research charities and would involve more applied than basic research in its approach, he said.

“Underneath all of these focus areas is the need for supporting people, the individual researchers. We see this as key,” he said. “And if you have the focus and the people you also need the environment, having clinical research centres and shared infrastructure. This needs specific support,” Dr Love added.

He sees much greater use of existing data sets as well, making use of research findings as a source of study to make discoveries.