Public Health Translational Team (PHTT)

The Public Health Translational Team (PHTT) was established in July 2016 to support the Ministry of Health and its agencies by providing dedicated translational expertise and generating evidence for policy formulation. PHTT carries out research work (including academic review of topical issues, review of evaluation methodologies and cost-effectiveness analysis) as part of a long-term cooperative partnership to address specific policy issues.

Since its establishment, the team has delivered on projects that range from hospital waiting times, body mass index, and the cost-effectiveness of specific vaccinations and screening tools. The team facilitated a series of studies in support of the War on Diabetes including risk factors for diabetes-related amputation, diabetes screening participation, behaviours of pre-diabetics, and factors for weight gain in early adulthood. It submitted a position paper in support of the proposed measures for standardised packaging and enlarged graphic health warnings for tobacco products announced by the Ministry of Health in November 2018.

To translate knowledge to practice on a broader scale, the team captures the output of key events in the school such as the Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue (the most recent on Tobacco Control), generates content for the School’s communications like Let’s Talk Public Health, and undertakes the construction of case studies in current issues in Public Health.