Within public health research and the NIHR infrastructure there are lots of jargon and acronyms. This can be confusing for many people. This glossary has been produced to help SPHR public partners and audiences more widely understand some of the key terms. If you think a term is missing, please email us at sphr.comms@ncl.ac.uk
SPHR specific
Advisory Board – The School’s Advisory Board provides independent strategic advice to the School Executive Group on the development of its activities in the context of national and international strategic opportunities and priorities. The Board includes people from a range of organisations involved in public health and practice as well as lay expert members. Advisory board meetings are held annually. Find out more
ARC – The NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems. Find out more
ARCD – Academic research capacity building. The School has a research capacity building programme to train public health research leaders of the future. The School provides a range of training opportunities for those interested in pursuing a career in public health research. Find out more
ASM – Annual Scientific Meeting. The SPHR has an ASM each year, usually in Spring.
DHSC – The Department for Health and Social Care. The DHSC supports ministers to lead the nation’s health and social care. The DHSC is a ministerial department.
Executive group – The Executive Group is chaired by the School’s Director, Professor Ashley Adamson. Each member institution has two representatives at each Executive group and this is rotated between the academic leads from each member institution. The Executive group oversees SPHR’s development, decides the research priorities, monitors progress against strategic aims and helps ensure collaborative working between members. The Executive group delegates responsibility for the day-to-day running of the School to the Management group. The Executive group meet quarterly. Find out more
Fuse – Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, brings together the five North East Universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside in a unique collaboration to deliver world-class research to improve health and wellbeing and tackle inequalities. Fuse is a founding member of the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR). Find out more about Fuse
LiLaC – LiLaC stands for the Liverpool and Lancaster Universities Collaboration for Public Health Research. LiLaC is a member of the SPHR. Find out more about LiLaC
NIHR – The National Institute for Health and Care Research. The NIHR is funded by the DHSC and was established in 2006 to “create a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals, working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public”. Find out more
NIHR Three Schools – The NIHR Three Research Schools is a collaboration between the Schools for Public Health Research (SPHR), Primary Care Research (SPCR), and Social Care Research (SSCR). The Schools are currently delivering three collaborative programmes of work on mental health, dementia and prevention.
PAN – The SPHR Public Partner Network (PAN) is for members of the public involved in our research to connect with each other. This offers people the opportunity to find out what is happening across the School and to support each other. The network helps advise us, particularly in our public involvement and engagement activities, allowing us to improve in these areas.
PhD/pre-doctoral/post-doctoral launching fellow –
- PhD – PhD or ‘Doctorate of Philosophy’ is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase ‘philosophiae doctor’. A PhD degree typically involves students independently conducting original and significant research in a specific field or subject, before producing a publication-worthy thesis. A full-time PhD usually lasts for 3 or 4 years
- Pre-doctoral fellow – a predoctoral fellow is someone engaged in academic study in preparation for a PhD
- Post-doctoral launching fellow – student engaged in postdoctoral research, that is, conducting research after the completion of their PhD
PHRESH – Public Health RESearch for Health Consortium. The PHRESH Consortium is a member of the SPHR and includes researchers from three leading universities in the West Midlands – the Universities of Birmingham, Warwick and Keele. Find out more about PHRESH
PPI – Patient and Public Involvement. PPI means actively working in partnership with patients and members of the public to plan, manage, design and carry out research.
SPHR – School for Public Health Research. The SPHR is a partnership between nine leading academic centres with excellence in applied public health research in England. The SPHR aims to increase the evidence base for equitable, inclusive and cost-effective public health practice. Find out more
Transdisciplinary – Transdisciplinary research is research carried out by researchers from different disciplines/subject areas working together to create new and innovative approaches.
Quinquennium – Quinquennium is a period of five years. The School has to apply for funding every five years. The School is now in its third quinquennium which is from 2022–2027. You will hear phases of the School referred to as QQ1, 2 or 3. These correspond to the following time periods:
- QQ1 2012–2017
- QQ2 2017–2021
- QQ3 2022–2027
Public health terms
BMI – Body Mass Index is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out if your weight is healthy.
Cohort study – A cohort study is a type of longitudinal study that follows research participants over a period of time. This can span a few years. Participants often share similarities such as age, sex, employment, location. Usually some of the cohort will be exposed to a specific risk factor/element and the impact of this is then explored.
CCGs – Commissioner/clinical commissioning groups are groups of local GP practices who have responsibility to commission NHS services in their local area. The majority of NHS England’s budget is allocated to CCGs. Commissioning is the process by which health and care services are planned, purchased and monitored.
Control group – In a scientific study, a control group is participants who do not receive the treatment or intervention the study is investigating. This allows comparisons to be made between the control group and the experimental group to see what the effect of the intervention is.
Determinants of health (social and commercial) – Determinants of health are the range of factors that affect the health of individuals and communities, these are often complex and interconnected. Examples include income and social status, education, genetics, physical environment, gender and health services.
- Social determinants – these are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age and what systems are in place to deal with illness. These are affected by a wider set of factors such as economics, politics and social policies
- Commercial determinants – these are corporate/private sector activities that affect people’s health (positively or negatively). Examples include advertising and product design and packaging. Find out more
Dimbleby review – An independent review of the food system published in 2021 by Henry Dimbleby. The review was the first significant assessment of the British Food System in 75 years. The review includes proposals for measures to combat obesity, improve people’s health and initiatives to educate children about food nutrition at school. Find out more and read the report
EDI – Equality, diversity and inclusion.
Epidemiology – The branch of medicine which deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health.
Health inequality – Health inequalities are avoidable, unfair and systematic differences in health between different groups of people. There are many factors affecting this that are often complex and interrelated. Factors include geography, socio-economic factors, sex, ethnicity and disability. Find out more
HFSS – High fat, salt and sugar. Usually referred to as foods high in HFSS. Also known are also known colloquially as ‘junk food’.
IMD – Index of Multiple Deprivation. This is a measure of relative deprivation for small areas. It is a combined measure based on 37 separate indicators grouped into 7 domains including income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers to housing and service and living environment.
Intervention studies – Intervention studies are when a specific intervention is being investigated. Intervention studies can be either therapeutic (i.e., treatment/procedure) or preventative (does it reduce risk of diseases developing?)
Local authority – A local authority is an organisation officially responsible for all the public services and facilities in a particular area. This covers a range of services for individuals and businesses including health services, education, planning, waste disposal, housing and environmental health.
Longitudinal study – In a longitudinal study, subjects are followed over time with continuous or repeated monitoring of risk factors or health outcomes, or both. Such investigations vary widely in their size and complexity.
Marmot Review – The Marmot Review into health inequalities in England was published in February 2010. It proposes an evidence-based strategy to address the social determinants of health, that is, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age and which can lead to health inequalities. Find out more
Meta-analysis – This is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. The benefits of this include a consolidate and quantitative review of a large, often complex, and sometimes conflict body of literature/evidence.
N number – N number is the number of elements in a sample/the sample size.
Natural experiment – A natural experiment is an observational study in which an event or situation allows for a particular question to be studied. This is often the case when controlled experimentation is not possible and researchers are not able to assign participants to treatment or control groups. Certain situations may create appropriate circumstances for a natural experiment such as policy changes, weather events or more recently the COVID-19 pandemic.
NDNS – The National Diet and Nutrition Survey assesses the diet, nutrient intake and nutritional status of the general population of the UK. It is a is a continuous, cross-sectional survey on a rolling programme. The survey covers a representative sample of around 1000 people per year. Fieldwork began in 2008 and is now in its eleventh year. Find out more
NOVA food classification system – NOVA is a food classification system that was developed by researchers at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The NOVA food classification system is commonly used in scientific literature. NOVA classifies foods according to the nature, extent and purpose of industrial processing. NOVA classifies all foods into four groups: unprocessed and minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods and ultra-processed foods.
Open access – Research publications are freely available to read in full.
PHE (Public Health England) and OHID (the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) – Formerly PHE, OHID is part of the DHSC. OHID focuses on improving the nation’s health so that everyone can expect to live more of life in good health, and on levelling up health disparities to break the link between background and prospects for a healthy life.
Population health – A ‘population health’ approach is aimed at improving the health of a whole population.
PROSPERO – PROSPERO is an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care. Key features from the review protocol are recorded and maintained as a permanent record in PROSPERO. The aim is to provide a comprehensive listing of systematic reviews. Studies are registered when they start to help avoid unplanned duplication. By promoting transparency in the process and enabling comparison of reported review findings with what was planned in the protocol, PROSPERO also aims to minimise the risk of bias in systematic review.
Public health – Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society. The public health workforce delivers a range of work to protect and improve the health of populations at a local, regional, national and global level.
Public Health Practitioner – Public Health Practitioners are key members of the public health workforce. Their work influences the health and wellbeing of individuals, groups, communities and populations. They work across the full breadth of public health from health improvement, health protection, to health information, community development, and nutrition. They work in a wide range of settings from the NHS and local government to the voluntary and private sectors.
Their work can include:
• supporting healthy lifestyle programmes such as those helping individuals and groups to stop smoking and take more exercise
• working on immunisation programmes and screening, based in local communities or in public health teams specialising in health protection
• playing an important role in national and local health campaigns.
Randomised control trial – A study in which a number of similar people are randomly assigned to two (or more) groups to test a specific drug, treatment or other intervention.
Systematic review – Systematic reviews typically involve a detailed and comprehensive plan and search strategy prior defined, with the goal of reducing bias by identifying, appraising, and synthesising all relevant studies on a particular topic.
Third sector organisation – Third sector organisations include charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises. These organisations often play an important role supporting local communities.
UPFs – UPFs are food items that are manufactured from industrial substances and contain additives such as preservatives, sweeteners, colourings, flavourings, and emulsifiers. UPFs vary greatly, but often indicate poor dietary quality, with higher levels of added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, as well as decreased fibre, protein, and micronutrient content. Ultra-processed foods go through multiple processes (extrusion, molding, milling, etc.) and contain many added ingredients such as sugar, salt and fat. Examples include soft drinks, fast food, chips, chocolate, candy, ice-cream, breakfast cereals with added sugar, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hotdogs and more.
White paper – White papers are policy documents produced by the Government that set out their proposals for future legislation. White Papers are government policy initiatives and proposals for legislation. Find out more
WHO – World Health Organization. Founded in 1948, the WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health. Find out more