Research areas
The department of primary care and public health has key strengths in the following research areas. We lead the Primary and Community Care and Public Health themes for the NIHR Kent Surrey and Sussex Applied Research Collaboration (KSS ARC).
Primary Care and Health Services Research
Our research focuses on management of long-term conditions in primary care, especially conditions which affect the elderly, such as dementia. We are interested in addressing issues of frailty, multi-morbidity and in developing tools to help support GPs with an increasing workload and an increasingly elderly population. In addition we are interested in using GP patient records for understanding disease epidemiology in primary care.
Epidemiology and Public Health
We undertake an extensive portfolio of research on the epidemiology of chronic diseases, especially cancer and respiratory diseases, and engage with local public health teams to address public health issues in the local and national population, such as cancer awareness, smoking cessation, and community mental health.
Sexual Health and Behavioural Medicine
We are interested in reducing the burden of sexually transmitted infections including HIV, by using behavioural and psychological interventions to help individuals reduce risky sexual behaviour. In addition, our research identifies broader health inequities experienced by those identifying as LGBT.
Health Data Science and Electronic Health Records
We use electronic patient records from general practice for epidemiological studies, and we are also interested in developing methodologies which help researchers understand and optimise the use of records for the research context, such as integrating clinical information from free text.
more about primary care and public health research areas >