Research Centre for Health Innovation (R-CHI)

Themes

Summary

We are an inter-disciplinary, university-wide centre focused on the science and application of health and health equity research. Our purpose is to undertake translational, applied research to improve the health and wellbeing of our local population and help reduce social and health inequalities.

Our aim

About us

The interdisciplinary Research Centre for Health Innovation (R-CHI) was newly established in 2025 to conduct cutting-edge applied research in health and care systems.

We aim to identify solutions to real world problems, having a tangible impact on improving health, wellbeing, patient safety and organisational outcomes. We maintain active research links with local, national and global external partners in higher education, health services, funding provision and the wider community. We are also fully active in teaching and learning activities, ensuring that research evidence underpins the curricula and inspires the health and care workforce that we train to engage more purposefully with research.

We provide a safe environment in which staff can become research engaged, moving onto research active and into research leadership; establishing a research, evaluation, and innovation identity that colleagues can feel involved in and be proud of.

Our research themes

We have four priority themed areas of research, as well as some cross-cutting methodological expertise in data analytics, qualitative co-production methods, and systems analysis. There are cross-cutting themes too, with an ethos of reducing inequality, increasing access and building capacity in disadvantaged populations being at the core of much of our work.

Workforce

We have a long-standing reputation in high quality innovative research into the care workforce, often including sustainable use of routine data, to examine optimal staffing, ‘skill mix’ and delivery models, retention, capacity planning, peer support workers, equity and staff safety outcomes.

Clinical & Operational Management

We have many clinically trained staff and a strong track record in conducting clinical studies and studying decision analytics and digital tools. We study clinical and pathological causes and therapeutic interventions in areas including but not limited to neonatal and maternal health, hand hygiene, bedside care, breastfeeding, heel pressure ulcers and cancer. Again advanced analytical methods are key to our approach.

Simulation and Interprofessional Education

We have close working partnerships with a number of professional simulation bodies and conduct research and evaluation in all areas of this innovative areas of education and workforce development, centred around our leading immersive facilities in the centre for health innovation. We are engaged in research into simulation pedagogy, and wider translational research using simulation as a tool to study systems of care.

Human Factors and Ergonomics

We have a core interest in Human Factors, also known as Ergonomics, and apply systems approaches to optimise staff wellbeing, patient safety, and organisational performance including efficiency, quality and sustainability.

Recent projects

For all inquiries

Please contact us at: rchi@staffs.ac.uk

Explore our facilities

 

Group leaders

Dr Al Ross

Professor

I am a Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors expert and a Chartered Psychologist with a wide-ranging research and teaching interest in system safety and improvement.

Al's profile

Hazel Smith

Associate Professor

Hazel is an Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Health in the School of Health, Science & Wellbeing and the Deputy Lead for the 'Centre for NMAHP Research and Education Excellence (CeNREE)' at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.

Hazel's profile
for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Social Inclusion

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021