Members of the Centre for Health Policy employ a wide-range of methods and approaches in our work to understand and improve health policy. The following four clusters of CHP work reflect our overarching approaches to research, our values and our vision:

• Qualitative research and mixed methods: The Centre for Health Policy is unusual, within health research, for centring qualitative research expertise. Many of our projects involve synthesising and undertaking qualitative research, with the aim of providing insights that tell us something about the diversity of the lives and experiences behind ‘the numbers’. While some members work primarily with quantitative methods and others primarily with qualitative methods, we share a desire to harness the value of mixed methods insights wherever possible.
• Participatory Methods and Public Engagement: Many of our members have long-standing expertise in participatory research methods and in facilitating public scrutiny of both policy and research. The aim of our participatory research is to share the power to shape research approaches, methods and framings with those whose lives are the subject of health policy research. We believe that public scrutiny of research and methods that embed co-production improve the quality of research, the insights research offers and the potential for findings to make a ‘real-world’ difference. Alongside participatory methods, our members also lead deliberative democratic interventions, like citizens’ juries, that help to facilitate and capture critical reflections from members of the public. We are working to build a vibrant community of practice around participatory approaches at Strathclyde and, as part of this, advocate for the use of participatory methods in research and policy (see, for example, this CHP blog). See our CHP Community Research Cafe page for more information about the support we can offer third sector organisations looking to undertake community-led research.
• Historical and lifecourse approaches: Several of our members undertake research that explores how historical policy decisions have shaped our social and economic contexts and population health, both today and in the past. A significant focus of this work is on understanding how health is shaped across the lifecourse. This includes the ways in which policies and practices impact on health at different life stages and transition points (e.g. leaving school, starting or leaving work, having children) and how changing policy landscapes contribute to contrasting generational experiences.
• Holistic, systems thinking: The Centre for Health Policy’s research emphasises that people’s health—both mental and physical—is deeply influenced by the broader systems in which they live, and the policies that shape these systems, rather than solely by health services or behaviours. Economic policies, housing conditions, and employment opportunities are all upstream determinants that interact to shape health and produce health inequalities. We also recognise the value of One Health in stressing the links between the health of people, animals and ecosystems. Policies across these domains may not always be labelled as “health policies,” but they play a critical role in shaping population health. By applying holistic systems thinking, the Centre for Health Policy’s research aims to highlight and better understand these interdependencies, identify leverage points for change, and support the development of integrated, cross-sectoral solutions.

In taking an evidence-informed approach to our work to influence policy and practice to the benefit of people’s health, we recognise the inequalities in global resources and power that contribute to poor health, and the historical factors that underlie these inequalities. For example, research in Africa is often donor-driven without necessarily impacting the national, regional or continental priorities. We work with others not only to try to develop evidence-based proposals for policies and practices to improve health but also to advance decolonial ideas that can help surface and challenges these historical legacies.