Pictured left to right are: Dr Mairead O Driscoll, Director of Research Strategy and Funding, HRB; Dr Reg Shaw, Chairman, HRB; Mary Harney, Minister for Health and Children; Dr Steve Wooding, RAND Europe.
In the first Irish study of its kind, the Health Research Board (HRB) has assessed the cumulative outcomes of a selection of HRB funded research projects over time to demonstrate the impact on people’s health and the Irish economy.
Top line results show that the eight projects included in the study, which received a combined total of €1.5 million HRB funding more than 10 years ago, have contributed significantly to health and economic benefits in Ireland and internationally.
Among the UCD projects included in the study was a clinical pharmacology research project which explored the role of drugs used to treat pain and arthritis. The research, led by Prof Des Fitzgerald, currently Vice President for Research at UCD, contributed to a range benefits for patients, including an improved dosing regime for pain treatment and withdrawal from the market of a potentially dangerous drug to treat arthritis. The research has also led to collaboration with a number of pharmaceutical companies for drug development and led to the formation of spin-off companies like Biontrack, representing a significant economic benefit.
UCD was also a collaborator on a psychiatry/ mental health research project included in the study. The research has led to the establishment of a pilot clinical service in south east Dublin and Wicklow, which aims to reduce delays in accessing treatment for psychosis and provides comprehensive interventions to aid recovery. This early intervention approach is shown to lead to improved health outcomes and significant savings on later treatment, representing a considerable economic benefit.
Commenting on the study, Dr Mairéad O Driscoll, Director of Research Funding and Strategy at the HRB said: ‘Research is the unseen force behind many improvements in healthcare and often the outcomes are taken for granted. The cumulative effect of €1.5 million for eight projects is impressive. The HRB currently has €180 million invested in health research across the system and we look forward to building on the approach taken in this study to show the very real difference this investment is making to healthcare and the economy’.
The HRB carried out the study in conjunction with the Health Economics Research Group in Brunel University and RAND Europe.
