The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) Oral and Dental Health Specialty has announced a new opportunity to identify future priorities relating to oral and dental health research.
NIHR CRN Oral and Dental Health announced the news of a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership at the British Society for Oral and Dental Research (BSODR) annual meeting on 7 September. The purpose of the James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) is to enable patients, carers and clinicians to come together to identify research questions, and then to prioritise these.
The oral and dental health PSP will bring together lay and patient groups, NIHR, Dental Schools Council, BSODR, Public Health England, the Chief Dental Officer (England) and the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners. They will work to identify the top ten research priorities for oral and dental research for the next ten years.
Collaboration of this sort, where patients, carers and clinicians work together set the research agenda, is extremely rare, but vital.
The announcement of the oral and dental PSP was made by Professor Peter Robinson, Chair of the NIHR CRN Oral and Dental Specialty Group. Professor Robinson said: "Oral health conditions create a huge burden to society because nearly everybody is affected by them, and yet they don't get the attention they deserve. Working with lay and professional groups will highlight the most important questions so that researchers and funders can focus their efforts on problems that matter"
Have your say!
A survey as part of the PSP is now available for completion to identify priority areas for future research in oral and dental health. Priorities will relate to health promotion, prevention and NHS oral care, focusing on three population groups:
- Children and young people
- Adults
- People requiring special care and older people
Complete the oral and dental PSP survey.
Visit the oral and dental PSP website for further information and details on progress throughout the partnership setting process.
