Delivery and impact of the NHS Health Check in the first 8 years: a systematic review.

Background: Since 2009, all eligible persons in England have been entitled to an NHS Health Check. Uncertainty remains about who attends, and the health-related impacts.

Aim: To review quantitative evidence on coverage (the proportion of eligible individuals who attend), uptake (proportion of invitees who attend), and impact of NHS Health Checks.

Current and future cardiovascular disease risk assessment in the European Union: an international comparative study.

Background: Risk assessment is central to primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but there remains a need to better understand the use of evidence-based interventions in practice. This study examines: (i) the policies and guidelines for risk assessment in Europe, (ii) the use of risk assessment tools in clinical practice and (iii) the barriers to, and facilitators of, risk assessment.

Methods: Data were collected from academics, clinicians and policymakers in an online questionnaire targeted at experts from all European Union member states, and in 8 in-depth country case studies that were developed from a targeted literature review and 36 interviews.

Reasons why people do not attend NHS Health Checks: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis.

Background: The NHS Health Check programme is a prevention initiative offering cardiovascular risk assessment and management advice to adults aged 40-74 years across England. Its effectiveness depends on uptake. When it was introduced in 2009, it was anticipated that all those eligible would be invited over a 5-year cycle and 75% of those invited would attend.

Views of commissioners, managers and healthcare professionals on the NHS Health Check programme: a systematic review.

Objective: To synthesise data concerning the views of commissioners, managers and healthcare professionals towards the National Health Service (NHS) Health Check programme in general and the challenges faced when implementing it in practice.

Design: A systematic review of surveys and interview studies with a descriptive analysis of quantitative data and thematic synthesis of qualitative data.

Data Sources: An electronic literature search of MEDLINE, Embase, Health Management Information Consortium, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Global Health, PsycInfo, Web of Science, OpenGrey, the Cochrane Library, NHS Evidence, Google Scholar, Google, ClinicalTrials.

The National Institute for Health Research at 10 Years: An Impact Synthesis: 100 Impact Case Studies.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds and supports world-leading clinical and applied health and social care research, as well as research infrastructure in the NHS. Providing £1 billion of funding each year, NIHR aims to: drive the faster translation of new treatments, technologies and diagnostics to improve outcomes for health and care services; promote the wealth of the nation, including via inward investment from the health research community; pull basic science discoveries through into tangible benefits for patients and the public; and provide research evidence to support more effective and cost-effective NHS delivery. To mark its tenth anniversary, the Department of Health commissioned the Policy Research in Science and Medicine unit to consider the question: "What are the ways in which NIHR has benefited the health research landscape in the past ten years?" This study identifies and celebrates 100 examples of positive change resulting from NIHR's support of research.

Patient experience of NHS health checks: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis.

Objective: To review the experiences of patients attending NHS Health Checks in England.

Design: A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies with a thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.

Data Sources: An electronic literature search of Medline, Embase, Health Management Information Consortium, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Global Health, PsycInfo, Web of Science, OpenGrey, the Cochrane Library, National Health Service (NHS) Evidence, Google Scholar, Google, Clinical Trials.

Evaluating the Role and Contribution of Innovation to Health and Wealth in the UK: A Review of Innovation, Health and Wealth: Phase 1 Final Report.

The Department of Health's Innovation, Health and Wealth (IHW) strategy aimed to introduce a more strategic approach to the spread of innovation across the NHS. This study represents the first phase of a three-year evaluation and aims to map progress towards the IHW strategy and its component actions. This evaluation used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods: document review, key informant interviews and stakeholder survey.

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's Capacity Building Activities in East Africa: Evaluating Progress and Impacts in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is one of a number of Product Development Partnerships created to bridge the gap between scientific and technological potential and the needs of low income populations in low and middle income countries. Specifically IAVI is focused on creating a preventative vaccine for HIV/AIDS. Whilst the remit of IAVI is to create new science, technology and products, its work necessarily involves a wide range of stakeholders and different constituencies in industrially developing and developed countries.

How policy can help develop and sustain workforce capacity in UK dementia research: insights from a career tracking analysis and stakeholder interviews.

Objectives: To identify research support strategies likely to be effective for strengthening the UK's dementia research landscape and ensuring a sustainable and competitive workforce.

Design: Interviews and qualitative analysis; systematic internet search to track the careers of 1500 holders of UK doctoral degrees in dementia, awarded during 1970-2013, to examine retention in this research field and provide a proxy profile of the research workforce.

Setting And Participants: 40 interviewees based in the UK, whose primary role is or has been in dementia research (34 individuals), health or social care (3) or research funding (3).

The use and impact of quality of life assessment tools in clinical care settings for cancer patients, with a particular emphasis on brain cancer: insights from a systematic review and stakeholder consultations.

Purpose: Patient-reported data are playing an increasing role in health care. In oncology, data from quality of life (QoL) assessment tools may be particularly important for those with limited survival prospects, where treatments aim to prolong survival while maintaining or improving QoL. This paper examines the use and impact of using QoL measures on health care of cancer patients within a clinical setting, particularly those with brain cancer.