Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS)
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- health-experiences-inclusive
- health-policy-systems
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IRIHS, founded in 2015, is a mixed-method research unit led by Professor Sara Shaw and Associate Professor Chrysanthi Papoutsi. IRIHS aims to undertake high-quality interdisciplinary research, teaching and applied scholarship across a range of fields relating to the organisation and delivery of health and care services, the social science of health innovation, public health, health inclusion and equity.
Our IRIHS team comprises five Professors (3 clinical), two Associate Professors, 16 academic staff and five academic-related/ support staff. Four honorary IRIHS academics bring expertise and ideas from other Universities in the UK and abroad.
We are currently supervising 27 DPhil students across programmes including the DPhil in Primary Care and the DPhil in Translational Health Sciences.
IRIHS Annual Report 2025
Read our full report here
Group Leads
Sara Shaw
ShawChrysanthi Papoutsi
PapoutsiProjects
Decide projects
Former Research Projects
Latest publications
Conceptualising diagnostic liminality: a qualitative exploration of the journey to heart failure diagnosis
Journal article
Goyder CR. et al, (2026), British Journal of General Practice the Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 76, e534 - e543
The randomised controlled trial as cultural product: an illustrative review using mask efficacy trials
Journal article
Greenhalgh T. et al, (2026), Ssm Qualitative Research in Health, 9
Planetary health leadership to drive climate action across pharmaceutical supply chains: insights from qualitative research and a call to action
Journal article
Booth A. et al, (2026), BMJ Leader, 10, 165 - 171
Choreographing Triage: Making Patient Requests ‘Flow’ Through Digitally Enabled Systems of Access and Decision-Making in NHS Primary Care
Journal article
Brenman N. et al, (2026), Sociology of Health and Illness, 48
Resources
NASSS-CAT Tools
The NASSS-CAT tools have been developed to help you plan, undertake and evaluate technology-supported change projects in health or social care. They are based on the Non-adoption, Abandonment, and challenges to Scale-up, Spread, and Sustainability (NASSS) framework which has been combined with a complexity assessment toolkit.
Aerosols and making spaces safe
Hands - Face - Space - Replace
A series of animated video summaries of Professor Trish Greenhalgh's research on preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Video consulting in the NHS
Developed by Professor Sara Shaw and Professor Trish Greenhalgh from the IRIHS Team in collaboration with Barts Health NHS Trust and Design Science.
Staff and patient guides - Group clinics
The staff guides will help practitioners deliver video and hybrid group clinics that are inclusive and efficient.
The patient guide will help patients or their carers prepare for a group clinic and get the most out of it.