Health and Healthcare Research

RAND Europe's growing health and healthcare portfolio brings together a multidisciplinary team with backgrounds in public health, health services research, clinical medicine, economics, psychology and systems design.

We work in close partnership with The Health Improvement Studies Institute (THIS) to help generate practical, actionable evidence that can support sustainable improvements in healthcare service provision and long-term patient benefit. The Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR) is also a key collaborator.

Featured Research

How, and how much, do migrants use UK health services?
Recent arrivals to the UK use the NHS significantly less than the UK-born population, though the difference narrows when adjusted for age and self-assessed health. However, more work is needed to provide insights to policy makers on migrant use of the NHS, their health needs, and the quality of health care received.

Selected Research

Improving early cancer diagnosis interventions
Explorations of how commissioners of healthcare services and Cancer Alliances in England and Northern Ireland make decisions at a local level are helping to inform Cancer Research UK’s work to support early cancer diagnosis locally, thereby improving cancer outcomes.
Quality improvement in the veterinary sector
Although quality improvement is not yet embedded into day-to-day work across the sector, the basic framework to support QI implementation is already in place, and those working in animal health care generally agree that it is desirable.
Innovation for improved NHS healthcare
The UK's NHS is under pressure to meet the growing and changing demand for services with limited resources. Innovations may provide opportunities to respond creatively and effectively to growing health demands.
Assessing the use of new technologies for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control
RAND Europe is providing research and support for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for the assessment of new technologies for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control over the next two years.
Understanding the UK's pregnancy research needs and priorities
A review of the research needs and expenditure on pregnancy in the UK found that £51 million is invested in pregnancy research each year. By contrast, the NHS spends £5.8 billion on pregnancy-related care each year and in 2018/19 litigation claims totalled £2.5 billion.
Economic benefits of malaria control
Investing in malaria vaccination for children in sub-Saharan Africa not only helps in reducing malaria cases and deaths, it could also have long term macroeconomic benefits according to an economic model researchers developed.
Assessing digital technologies for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control
Research into up-and-coming technologies is intended help to improve situational awareness and inform the coordination of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)’s infection control in response to outbreak events.
Assessing EHR for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control
Electronic health records (EHR) data could greatly help infectious disease surveillance, but their use varies across Europe. Researchers are mapping EHR use to assess the feasibility of using EHR data for infectious disease surveillance.

Our Experts

Jon Sussex

Chief Economist

Jon Sussex is chief economist at RAND Europe and co-director of the Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (a collaboration between RAND Europe and the Insitute of Public Health at the University of Cambridge). He has 30 years of experience in research and consultancy in the fields…

Sonja Marjanovic

Senior Research Leader and Head of THIS Institute-RAND Europe partnership

Sonja Marjanovic is a senior research leader in Innovation, Health and Science at RAND Europe and head of RAND Europe's institutional partnership with The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute at Cambridge University (a flagship national research institute led by Prof…

Sarah Ball

Senior Analyst

Sarah Ball is a senior analyst at RAND Europe with a research focus on health and healthcare. In her time at RAND Europe, she has contributed to a range of research projects in the area of health services delivery, including NIHR-funded studies on a ‘telephone first’ approach to demand…

Katherine I. Morley

Research Leader

Kate Morley is a research leader with RAND Europe in the area of innovation, health, and science. She has a background in epidemiology and primarily works with large-scale linked administrative data sets, but also conducts research using surveys and interviews. She works on a range of topics…

Tackling staffing and funding issues in the NHS is necessary for improvement but not enough

29 Jan 2020

The NHS could move towards a more sustainable model of healthcare delivery that is fit for purpose if it empowered staff to be able to embrace innovation as a mindset, attitude, culture and practice, according to a new study by RAND Europe and the University of Manchester.

Pregnant woman works at a computer, photo by izusek/Getty Images

The NHS Spends Significantly Less on Pregnancy-Related Research Compared with Other Health Conditions

14 Jan 2020

The National Health Service spends significantly less on pregnancy-related research compared with other health conditions. Funding for pregnancy research totaled £255 million from 2013 to 2017, or about £51 million a year. As pregnancy care costs the NHS £5.8 billion annually, this means that for every £1 spent on pregnancy care, less than 1 penny is spent on research.

People learning about wellbeing, photo by Rawpixel/Getty Images

Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace

13 Jan 2020

Much of the mental health support provided by employers focuses on individual staff members, but it is equally important to consider how an organization itself may need to change to effectively support employees. If an organization is serious about improving staff mental health, assessing the working culture honestly and implementing appropriate changes could be one necessary step.

RAND Europe co-hosts seminar series on workplace health

13 Nov 2019

Ian Edwards of Nomura Health and Fitness discussed data-driven employee health in business, as part of a seminar series on workplace health co-hosted by RAND Europe and C3 Collaborating for Health

A woman with cancer faces away from the camera, photo by FatCamera/Getty Images

Treating Breast Cancer Is Not Just About the Disease: Its Wider Impacts Need to Be Considered, Too

22 Oct 2019

Successes in the early treatment of breast cancer are to be celebrated. But those achievements need not limit the development of further and better treatment for patients. Understanding the disease's wider effects could help bring this about.

Quoted

There is a clear case for further investment in pregnancy research. Poor pregnancy outcomes can have significant effects on women and families, and making birth safer and improving outcomes through high-quality research can deliver benefits that stretch beyond pregnancy itself.

Susan Guthrie

Research Leader

Source: RAND News Release

Successes in the early treatment of breast cancer are to be celebrated, but those achievements need not limit the development of further and better treatment for patients.

Daniela Rodriguez-Rincon

Analyst

Source: The RAND Blog

When staff have the appropriate knowledge, confidence, attitudes and skills to handle aggressive or violent patients, they are less likely to experience harm resulting from patient aggression.

Michael Whitmore

Research Leader

Source: Nursing Times

Both nocturia and poor sleep quality offer important opportunities for intervention. Nocturia is still poorly understood and more research is needed to better understand the condition.

Marco Hafner

Senior Economist

Source: The RAND Blog

Incentive programmes can have a positive impact on healthy behaviours, particularly physical activity. But the type of incentive matters.

Marco Hafner

Senior Economist

Source: The Council for Work and Health

Don't make wellbeing a bolt on, something you do in lunch. Make it core to what you are doing in the workplace. Whether an organisation reports internally or externally on wellbeing is key—so that there is board level discussion and reporting.

Christian Van Stolk

Executive Vice President, RAND Europe

Source: Safety Management Magazine

There's also something quite interesting in a survey of this nature [the Healthiest Workplace Survey]. It shows you the difference between what the employer thinks is happening and what the employee perceives. And, actually, that difference is quite substantial.

Christian Van Stolk

Executive Vice President, RAND Europe

Source: BFM 89.9

There's some research that shows that if you're a well-slept person you tend to be more productive on average which subsequently has a positive effect on your long-term earnings.

Marco Hafner

Senior Economist

Source: Marketplace/BBC World Service

Supporting Students' College and Career Pathways: Teacher and Principal Perspectives

Enhancing Security on NATO's Northern Flank: Options for Norway

On the Horns of the COVID-19 Dilemma

Should You Consider Taking a Loved One Out of a Long-Term Care Facility Now?

The Economic Impacts of COVID-19

The Policy Currents Podcast

Helping Children Cope with Trauma: A School-Based Intervention

Planning for the Rising Costs of Dementia

Addressing the Invisible Wounds of War

Helping Coastal Communities Plan for Climate Change

Health and Healthcare Research

Featured Research

How, and how much, do migrants use UK health services?

Selected Research

Improving early cancer diagnosis interventions

Quality improvement in the veterinary sector

Innovation for improved NHS healthcare

Assessing the use of new technologies for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control

Understanding the UK's pregnancy research needs and priorities

Economic benefits of malaria control

Assessing digital technologies for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control

Assessing EHR for infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control