IPH Director of Research, Professor Kevin Balanda made a presentation entitled 'Some personal reflections on trans-disciplinary research for better population health & wellbeing' at the Irish Research Councils Horizon 2020 ‘Creative Connections’ workshop held on the 11 February 2014. He argued that comprehensive systems-wide solutions are needed to meet complex public health challenges and that these can only be supported by research that genuinely brings together the contributions of many disciplines and perspectives

1. Some personal reflections
on trans-disciplinary research
for better population health & wellbeing
Kevin P Balanda
Institute of Public Health in Ireland
www.publichealth.ie
Creative Connections in Horizon 2012 Workshop
11 February 2014

2. About my work
• Pure mathematics (infinite cardinals)
• Applied Statistics
• Epidemiologist in state health department
• Biostatistician in applied behavioural intervention research
• Population health, health inequalities and the social determinants of
health

3. Horizon 2020:
• “Research and Innovation to boost growth
& jobs … ”
• "Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing"
societal challenge”
• “Science with and for Society” programme
HRB’s mission is “to improve people’s health, patient care and health
service delivery by … “
Healthy Ireland’s vision: An Ireland “where everyone can enjoy physical and
mental health and wellbeing to their full potential, …”
Population health & wellbeing & Horizon 2020

4. Complex public health issues require System-wide
solutions based on Trans-disciplinary research

5. Economic cost of obesity (led by HRB’s CHDR):
• Descriptive study involving clinicians, epidemiologists,
health service managers, economists, mathematicians
and statisticians , demographers
• Working together to combine a wide range of inputs into
an agreed economic model and interpret results
Food choice workshop (with HRB’s CHDR & CoEfPH (NI)):
• Social scientists and econometricians in UCC & QUB
• Different methodologies from two research traditions
• Possible collaborative research projects
Using “big data” for non-communicable disease surveillance
What determines the food
choices we make?
Lessons from health
economics and life stories
perspectives
Some trans-disciplinary research studies

6. Many disciplinary, professional, personal, organisational,
financial, cultural, social and political barriers
"Systems models" of knowledge translation with
knowledge co-coproduction integrated into
organisations and systems
Dissemination and Implementation
Requiring genuine engagement with policy makers,
practitioners, industry and the community
For example;
• IPH funded by the two departments of health
on the island
• IPH is a formal partner in HRB’s CHDR and
CoEfPH (NI)
• Joint Knowledge Translation Officers
• Building research and evaluation capacity in
the community and voluntary sector
Research to population health outcomes

7. Need to understand connections between the determinants of health and
wellbeing, and mobilise them into effective systems-wide solutions
This requires meaningful engagement and collaboration with others who
bring different perspectives
We are not necessarily good at this nor are our institutions necessarily
set up to support such engagement
Direct support is needed:
• Address significant barriers
• Training / facilitation in effective collaboration
• Build research and evaluation capacity amongst policy makers,
practitioners and the community
1. More systematic support for collaboration

8. Trans-disciplinary research involves working with different types
of knowledge:
• From research, routine data, experience
• Quantitative and qualitative methods
• Academic and “grey” literature
• Tacit (unwritten)
Useful to bring these knowledge/information resources together.
Such integrated” information can:
• Place research in its policy & practice context
• Support cross-disciplinary learning and
engagement
• Facilitate knowledge co-production
Websites with “integrated” information
www.thehealthwell.info
2. More accessible “integrated” information

9. • Population health impacts and equity implications of new technologies
• Development of effective community and policy trials interventions
• Management of multi-morbidities
• Dissemination and Implementation Sciences
•
• “Systems” thinkers
• Knowledge synthesis techniques
• Techniques for trans-disciplinary collaboration
Exciting opportunities for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
3. Further population health / health services research

10. “Health and wellbeing” important inHorizon 2020
Complex public health issues
Require systems-wide solutions
Based on trans-disciplinary research
Population impacts also require a focus of knowledge translation
Amongst other things, I believe this:
• Focus on more systematically supporting collaboration
• More accessible “integrated” information
• New population health / health services research
Trans-disciplinary research is the cornerstone of population health;
it’s rewarding, challenging and sometimes frustrating.
Conclusion

11. Thank you for your
attention
kevin.balanda@publichealth.ie
www.publichealth.ie