The Health Services Research Unit (HSRU) officially came into existence on 5 July 1988 with a staff of a Director, two Research Fellows and two Secretaries.
From those beginnings, the Unit has gone on to conduct more than 500 studies to date, including: 100+ large-scale clinical trials involving 50,000 participants from 1,600+ sites worldwide; approximately 180 health technology assessments/reviews; and over 250 types of health services research study across a range of patient, clinical and NHS service uncertainties and experiences. The Unit won the 2017 Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in conjunction with the Health Economics Research Unit, and now boasts 75 staff but still operates in accordance with the same fundamental principles to:
- improve effectiveness, efficiency and experiences of care;
- work for the implementation of proven changes;
- encourage and support similar work throughout Scotland;
- train NHS staff in Scotland, and others, in the principles and practice of health services research.
We are delighted to be celebrating 30 years of cutting-edge, world-leading and impactful research, and we look forward to the next 30!
If you’d like to talk to us about your health services research needs, ideas for new collaborations or projects or to get involved in our research, email hsru@abdn.ac.uk.