Title: HS&DR evidence synthesis centre/team
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: HS&DR Programme's need for this type of research: The remit of the HS&DR programme is to fund research to improve the quality, effectiveness and accessibility of the NHS, including evaluations of how the NHS might improve delivery of services. Determining how best to organise and deliver health services can be difficult as the delivery of care invariably involves complex processes, making robust evaluation difficult. Decision makers will need to consider not only effectiveness and cost-effectiveness but also implementation and issues related to service organisation and delivery, and equity of access. Research evidence to address these issues is likely to be diverse and complex and may be difficult to identify. It is likely to encompass evaluations of effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, patient experience, service delivery, implementation, resource use and equity, and will span the spectrum of study designs. This particular call relates to the production of evidence syntheses which will be of immediate use to the NHS in order to improve the quality, effectiveness and accessibility of the NHS including delivery of services. The aim of each synthesis is to produce an authoritative single-source document which provides simple top-line messages in complex areas aimed at busy managers and clinical leaders. High quality evidence syntheses provide the best possible information about the effects of interventions used in health and social care by applying explicit, pre-specified and objective methods to identify, evaluate and summarise the available research. To promote the use of research evidence and maximise the usefulness and relevance of evidence syntheses, decision makers need output that contextualises the research and summarises the evidence in a timely fashion. Production of targeted output in appropriate formats will make it as straightforward as possible for decision makers to use research evidence and will facilitate the increased understanding and uptake of research evidence. The call also notes the potential need for scoping reviews. In addition to evidence syntheses, scoping reviews can be useful to determine the size and nature of the evidence base in areas of service uncertainties. Such reviews do not attempt to synthesise the evidence but the results can be used to make recommendations for research, either to assess the feasibility of a full systematic review or the need for primary research. The outputs from each review synthesis would inform the HS&DR programme in identifying areas where further research is needed.

Lay abstract: Track record in evidence synthesis and understanding of outputs required: The proposed programme of work will build on the success and experience obtained from our current contract with HS&DR to undertake rapid evidence syntheses. It will be undertaken by established health and social care research groups at the University of York, namely the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD), the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) and the Centre for Health Economics (CHE), and in collaboration with the EPPI-Centre at the Institute of Education in London. The work will be overseen and led by Professors Alison Eastwood, Gillian Parker, Andrew Street and James Thomas, with access to the wider expertise of senior staff within partner departments and groups. Internationally recognized experts within these groups are able to provide advice covering the broad themes under the remit of the HS&DR programme. CRD has a proven track record in the production of high quality evidence syntheses and the development of underpinning methodologies, with experience of health technology assessment, public health and health services research and of associated knowledge translation. The department is experienced in the targeted dissemination of research evidence on important health and public health issues to inform policy, practice and further research. In response to the needs of the relevant audiences, we produce outputs in various formats which summarise and critique the available evidence such that users can access and apply the findings to support their decision making. The programme of work will be led by Professor Alison Eastwood, who has 25 years’ experience in health services research and has led the current HS&DR Evidence Synthesis Centre at York since March 2014. Mark Rodgers, Jane Dalton and Sian Thomas, experienced researchers in CRD, will provide methodological expertise informed by their involvement in topics undertaken for the current contract. Professor Gillian Parker, based in SPRU, has extensive experience of delivering evidence synthesis in relation to models of service delivery and organisation in health and social care, with a proven track record in scoping reviews, full systematic reviews and meta-reviews in these complex areas. Professor Andrew Street, who is director of the Health Policy team in CHE and of the Economics of Social and Health Care Research Unit, will provide expert advice for relevant topics. He has more than 25 years’ experience in undertaking high quality research into matters of health policy and has strong connections with policy, professional and academic communities. Professor James Thomas, Associate Director of the EPPI centre, will advise on text mining which will be particularly relevant for searching and screening in scoping reviews to rapidly assess the volume and scope of literature in complex areas. During the first two years of the current contract we hold with HS&DR, the York Centre has undertaken a variety of projects, both in terms of topic and methodology. These have ranged from full evidence syntheses to rapid scoping reviews, and all projects include initial developmental work to refine and prioritise the question to ensure meaningful output. We have produced full reports, journal articles and briefing documents to target key audiences; we are also presenting our methodological approach at conferences.

Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE