The Health Research Board, in line with the recommendation, coordinates the priorities for research in conjunction with key stakeholders such as academics, service providers and policy makers.
In relation to the research being carried out in conjunction with the Health Research Board, the Board has supported a number of awards conducting research into cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular health research is supported through a wide variety of funding instruments ranging from Summer Student projects, Investigator Led Projects through to a Stroke Clinical Trials Network awarded in 2014 to support the conduct of multi-centre clinical trials.
Examples of cardiovascular research include:
- In 2012 we supported Professor Rose Ann Kenny with an ICE Award entitled “Effecting change in cardiovascular health of older Irish adults: rapid translation of cardiovascular health research findings into policy and practice in a recession”;
- In 2011 we supported Dr Andrew Smyth with a NSAFP award entitled “Sodium and Potassium Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular and Chronic Kidney Disease”.
This is complemented by other types of assessment such as health technology assessment (HTA). In 2014 the Government granted approval for the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to undertake a HTA of a public access defibrillation programme (PAD) for Ireland because there were a number of questions that needed consideration before designing a public access defibrillation programme. Following a Public Consultation in October 2014, the HIQA Board approved a Report and set of recommendations for the Minister. The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) examined the implication of establishing a national public access defibrillation (PAD) programme in Ireland to increase survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). It estimated the clinical and cost effectiveness of a range of PAD configurations.
