HDRCs are funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research on behalf of the UK Government. They are designed to help councils become ‘research active’ and to embed a culture of evidence-based decision making.

HDRCs all involve councils working together with partners from higher education and the voluntary sector. THCVS is the voluntary sector partner in the Tower Hamlets HDRC. The other main partners are Queen Mary University of London, the University of East London and London Metropolitan University.

Update on progress with housing theme of the Tower Hamlets Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC)

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is one of four London Boroughs to have achieved the status of a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) council, meaning that it has funding to undertake research into those areas known to have a major impact on our health. On achieving this status, the Council proposed that research on housing be prioritised. Housing is a major determinant of health, and whilst quite a lot is already known about the ways in which it can impact physical, mental and social health (both positively and negatively), less is known about what local authorities can do to mitigate some of the negative impacts. The council’s proposal to focus initially on housing was well received at a series of consultation events with residents.

There has been much progress in recent months with narrowing down the selection of possible research topics and questions to be taken forward locally around the priority theme of housing.  A piece of work was completed to review what we know already about housing and health (and therefore do not need further research to repeat), as well as to outline the key housing and health challenges facing Tower Hamlets and the progress the local authority has made against existing policy recommendations around housing and health. This piece of work led to a series of high level areas of research interest being proposed for discussion at two workshops held in March. The workshop involved representatives of VCS organisations as well as housing colleagues and academics from partner institutions and generated a huge amount of discussion and debate about where Tower Hamlets should focus its research resources. As a result of these discussions and suggestions made, the proposed areas of research interest were amended. For example, participants felt that the topic of temporary accommodation should be expanded to homelessness in general, that barriers to private sector housing and shared ownership were well known and should be removed, and that opportunities to influence affordability of housing were limited and this should also be removed. Workshop participants also highlighted carers as a specifically vulnerable group. Workshop participants went on to discuss and vote on specific research questions that need to be answered locally. The result is a shortlist of potential research questions, several of which would benefit from community engagement, others which are more appropriate for a desktop review (ie of international research evidence) or analysis of existing data.

The next stage is for the Council to make decisions on which should go forward in the short and medium term. Once the shortlist of potential research projects has been prioritised, this will be communicated further with a view to discussing how best to engage local residents in appropriate projects.  

To find out more, contact Alison Robert via alison.robert@thcvs.org.uk or HDRC via info@hdrc.