News

Swine flu research publishes in new HTA journal themed issue

23 July 2010

The first swine flu themed issue of the Health Technology Assessment journal series has published. This special issue (Vol. 14:34) contains the full results of the first five NIHR funded projects to complete along with one Cochrane review:

• 09/84/98 Public responses to swine flu communications: a longitudinal analysis
• 09/84/90 Vaccine effectiveness In Pandemic influenza - primary care Reporting - VIPER
• 09/84/157 Measuring the impact of school closure and illness on social contact patterns
• 09/84/47 Influenza A/H1N1v in pregnancy: An investigation of the characteristics and management of affected women and the relationship to pregnancy outcomes for mother and infant
• 09/84/23 Exploring the needs, concerns and behaviours of people with existing respiratory conditions in relation to the H1N1 'swine influenza' pandemic
• Cochrane paper: Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses: a Cochrane review
  

These projects were commissioned to look into the prevention, treatment and management of swine flu as part of the Department of Health's response to the H1N1 'swine flu' pandemic. A total of 14 research projects were funded by the NIHR through NETSCC.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Director General of Research and Development at the Department of Health said: "This is a really strong collection of research addressing many important dimensions of the response to an influenza pandemic. The results will help us plan for future pandemics but can also help us now, for example with infection control practice."

To view the themed issue visit http://www.hta.ac.uk/2224

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