Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS)
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), one Associate Professor, 17 academic staff and five support/ academic-related 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.
Programmes
The DECIDE (Digitally Enabled Care in Diverse Environments) centre is a programme of work for rapid evaluation of technology-enabled remote monitoring in health and care.
IRIHS Annual Report 2025
Read our full report here
Group Leads
Sara Shaw
ShawChrysanthi Papoutsi
PapoutsiProjects
Current Research Projects
Former Research Projects
Latest publications
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
Health Messaging in Menstrual Product Marketing on Social Media: Neoliberalism and Normalisation
Journal article
Frost L. et al, (2026), Sociology of Health and Illness, 48
Remote Access to Primary Care: Theorising ‘Care Navigation’
Journal article
Hughes G. et al, (2026), Sociology of Health and Illness, 48
When trial interventions are likely to reduce the impact of rape myths on juror decisions: A mechanism-informed evidence synthesis
Journal article
Helm RK. et al, (2026), Journal of Criminal Justice, 104
Reflexive Qualitative Research and Generative AI: A Call to go Beyond the Binary
Journal article
Greenhalgh T., (2026), Qualitative Inquiry
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.