Our Research
The key defining characteristics of TRANSFORM’s research are that it is translational and that it informs policy and practice. Our research spans many topics, including climate change mitigation, smoking cessation, improving food environments, and digital health.
Currently, members of TRANSFORM are examining salt consumption levels among tertiary students in Thailand, food insecurity among university students in Aotearoa, disgust in nursing, smoking cessation during Ramadan, and the efficacy of ‘cool roofs’ in improving health and environmental outcomes in the Pacific.
This breadth and depth of expertise allow TRANSFORM to complement and enhance the capabilities of other research centres.
Through collaboration, TRANSFORM maximises the impact of its research and contributes to improving health outcomes for communities worldwide.
Our translational research often uses pragmatic study designs to provide evidence for real-world application.
Example of research themes include:
Pragmatic Research Methods
Pragmatism in research involves selecting the best method to address the research question. This approach emphasises external validity, ensuring that evidence is directly applicable to real-world policy and practice needs. While maintaining high standards of internal validity, it balances inclusivity and aligns closely with implementation science.
TRANSFORM originated from the renowned Clinical Trials Research Unit, known internationally for its high-quality pragmatic trials and collaboration with leading research methodologists. However, our pragmatic approach extends beyond trials, aiming to produce the best available evidence across various research designs.
Digital Health
Our digital health work includes the co-design and development of digital health tools and programmes with communities and health services around important health issues, as well as designing and conducting implementation-ready trials of digital health tools in real world contexts.
We specialise in mHealth – programmes specifically designed to be delivered via mobile phones and devices and research focused on consumer and patient perspectives on digital health developments, including Artificial Intelligence.
Public Health Policy
We lead innovative research that informs public health policy and practice. Our work focuses on addressing key health priorities, reducing health disparities, and promoting equitable health outcomes. Using observational and interventional study designs, our research translates into actionable policies and interventions, thus improving the health and wellbeing of communities locally and globally.
Clinical Intervention and Treatment
We design and run research studies to test the effectiveness and safety of novel treatment approaches and other interventions in ways that are as close to ‘the real world’ as possible. These studies may involve end-users and healthcare providers in intervention design. They often use qualitative research methods and economic evaluations to provide insights into the user experience, treatment acceptability and cost-effectiveness compared to standard care.
See examples of Clinical Intervention and Treatment Research
Learn and browse examples of our reasearch across the themes: