Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS)

Better together? Group consultations in the NHS

Fever, represented as a frenzied beast, stands racked in the centre of a room, while a blue monster, representing ague, ensnares his victim by the fireside; a doctor writes prescriptions to the right. Coloured etching by T. Rowlandson after J. Dunthorne, 1788.

Interrupted or invigorated? Qualitative health research during the Covid-19 pandemic

A sign for the car park at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Weighing up the pros and cons - patients’ views and experiences of video consultations

Explore the social science of innovation with this highly applied course to translate research findings into practical application.

MSc in Translational Health Sciences

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.

Meet the team

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.

Meet our DPhil students

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

Chrysanthi Papoutsi

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.

Access the tool

If we all wear masks, we stop droplets and protect others.

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 resources

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.

Guides for doctors and patients

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.

View the guides here

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.

Projects

Former Research Projects

Image of two older people talking to a doctor on their mobile phone

Remote by Default 2: the “new normal”?

TOGETHER 2 study: Evaluating video and hybrid group consultations in general practice: mixed-methods, participatory study

Latest publications

Choreographing Triage: Making Patient Requests ‘Flow’ Through Digitally Enabled Systems of Access and Decision-Making in NHS Primary Care

Brenman N. et al, (2026), Sociology of Health and Illness, 48

Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS)

Better together? Group consultations in the NHS

Interrupted or invigorated? Qualitative health research during the Covid-19 pandemic

Weighing up the pros and cons - patients’ views and experiences of video consultations

MSc in Translational Health Sciences