The Institute’s vision is supported by four key Reasearch themes:
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THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF CARE We will develop and evaluate technologies to ensure health systems globally get the most value from digital innovation. This will encompass new models of care, including more patient-centered and distributed care pathways harnessing mobile health, wearables, remote approaches to consultation, monitoring and consultation, diagnostics and stratified treatments, all of which shifts more power to health consumers. We will work with collaborators such as the Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies (HeLEX), and the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), to address issues of usability, trust and fairness. |
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DATA SCIENCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE The Institute will partner with the new Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science to apply new technologies to data sets and the latest scientific evidence, and to develop practical tools for clinicians. The Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences is host to the world’s longest established and largest electronic health records databases. AI and machine learning are being used to explore these data, and to develop prediction tools that can underpin a new era of precision medicine, leading to more effective prevention and treatment. This theme will generate powerful new evidence from electronic health records. |
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INNOVATIVE METHODS IN DIGITAL HEALTH We will not only lead the world in understanding how to digitally transform health care, and how to derive new knowledge from health datasets, but we will also pioneer new methodological approaches in this field. Our current work includes an innovative agile clinical trials platform built on routine electronic health records. This can radically improve current approaches to randomised trials and the evaluation of interventions, as well as long-term observational studies, at low cost, facilitating faster answers to deliver more rapid benefits to patients. Our work evaluating digital interventions considers new ways of assessing their usefulness, including the key issues of digital inclusion, and the green impact of digital approaches. |
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BUILDING A KNOWLEDGE POWERHOUSE We continue to build our multidisciplinary teams of experts and invest in our staff with key skills training and engage in knowledge transfer through partnerships with industry and health care providers around the world. The Institute will have a programme of visiting scholars, curating the exchange of expertise across disciplines and international settings. In 2022 we launch a flagship Master’s in Applied Digital Health to build a knowledgeable and skilled workforce. Together with our international Diversity & Inclusion Panel, and organisations such as the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, the Shuri Network, and One Health Tech, we will ensure that underserved populations will have equal opportunities to work and study with us. |
Teaching, Capacity Building and Future leaders
The Institute provides an enhanced interface between its world-class research facilities and teaching through the co-location of primary care undergraduate teaching and Master’s programmes in:
This part-time MSc in Global Healthcare Leadership is an intellectually rigorous and highly practical programme, designed to develop experienced leaders with the skills to deliver affordable, effective and efficient healthcare in complex global systems. Designed for experienced healthcare managers and leaders with over five years' relevant professional experience, this multi-disciplinary Master’s degree is led by the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences in partnership with Saïd Business School, creating an innovative and integrated programme that harnesses the University’s world-leading expertise in healthcare, business and policy.
The social science of innovation: taking an interdisciplinary and applied approach to the challenges of implementing innovations and research discoveries in a healthcare setting. Turning innovations into practical solutions for healthcare needs is an imperative – and one that can only become more urgent as demands on health systems increase. Our key focus in this Master's programme will be the ‘downstream’ phases of translational health sciences – the human, organisational and societal issues that impact on the adoption, dissemination and mainstreaming of research discoveries. We will address these issues using robust, interdisciplinary and practice-based approaches in this highly applied course.
Our world-class programme of part-time graduate courses and professional short courses is designed to meet the interests and professional requirements of clinicians, scientists and researchers, working in a wide range of disciplines.
In addition, in 2022 the Institute launched a new Master’s programme in Applied Digital Health to build a competent and skilled workforce that can bridge the knowledge gap between healthcare and digital technologies.