News

Research published assessing the carbon cost of pragmatic randomised controlled trials

09 November 2009

Research for the National Institute for Health Research into the carbon cost of trials managed by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme is published in the British Medical Journal.

Quantifying CO2 emissions from health research is important to the NHS as part of its commitment to reduce its carbon output, to which clinical research contributes. Analysis of a sample of HTA Randomised Controlled Trials determined which elements of the trials produce the most emissions.

The findings will feed into NIHR guidelines to advise health researchers on how to reduce CO2 emissions from their trials and other research projects. Although the carbon impact of trials is not usually high, reducing carbon output will contribute to the overall NHS reduction of CO2 emissions.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Director General of Research and Development at the Department of Health said:

"I am delighted to welcome this report as a contribution from the NIHR to help the NHS fight climate change. This brings the NHS a step closer to achieving targets to reduce its carbon footprint of 10% by 2015 and 26% by 2020. The work of the research team in examining the contribution of health research to CO2 emissions is of importance to the NIHR in moving towards these targets.

“The NHS needs to become the leading public sector organisation in promoting sustainable development and mitigating climate change. The NIHR funds research that helps the NHS transform the way it delivers healthcare, and this report will inform efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the health research it funds".

To view the report visit http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/oct30_1/b4187

Notes for editors:

The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme is coordinated by the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC), based at the University of Southampton. www.netscc.ac.uk. The HTA programme produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2008 Impact Factor (5.010) ranked it in the top 10 per cent of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk

Further information: 
Helen Payne, Communications Coordinator, NETSCC Tel: 023 80597431 email: h.r.payne@southampton.ac.uk