Health determinants and research team

What do we do?

Tower Hamlets Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) helps the council to find, create, and use research. We engage with local people to improve how information is collected and shared. We also work with universities and the voluntary sector to do research and help staff and local people to learn new skills. Research helps us understand how to keep improving council services, because everyone deserves the good health that comes from a great environment, housing, economy and education.

Why is it important?

Everyone benefits from council services that are more informed by research. Your health is affected by many factors: where you live, what you eat, where you grow up, and so on. Ensuring that decisions made by the council in every service are informed by evidence means that we can help to improve those services.
Everyone deserves fair access to the best available council services. The HDRC helps council teams to create, find, and use evidence that will help to tackle inequalities.
Everyone deserves to be heard. By including resident representatives on our board and co-producing our work with community members and voluntary sector groups, we ensure that our services meet the needs of the community. It is also important that we make and use evidence in an ethical way so that local people are kept safe and they have confidence in the way their information will be used.
Everyone should have the opportunity to develop their own research skills. The HDRC’s role is to build up the resources and ability to do and use research within the council, within local universities and within the wider community. This includes building community capacity and supporting residents to contribute to and lead research.
Everyone should receive communication that is appropriate and accessible for them. Whether that’s through our website, our newsletter, events or through other channels, everyone should be able to find out about our work in a format that works for them.

Want to get involved?

Where can you get more information?

Tower Hamlets is one of the first council to hose an HDRC, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. You can find out more about HDRCs on the NIHR website.

You can also contact us: HDRC@towerhamlets.gov.uk