The Department of Public Health & Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is concerned with applying health, social and management sciences to major issues in public health and health services. Research focuses on: policy in relation to social and environmental factors in health, and health impact assessment and analysis; the evaluation of activities aimed at health promotion and the prevention of disease; the organisation and
ûnancing of health care, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health care, and quality improvement in health care; and the study of health policy processes.

The Department promotes multidisciplinary collaboration; linking public health, policy and practice through research and analysis. This is undertaken by staff from many disciplines, including epidemiology, statistics and mathematics, economics and policy analysis, working with anthropologists, sociologists, historians, psychologists and geographers. Amongst these disciplines, the key health care professions are well-represented by doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

Staff in the Department have built strong networks linking public health, policy and practice through both primary and secondary research and analysis. Staff collaborate with many diverse public sector organisations, from municipal to government departments in the UK and other countries; international agencies such as the World Bank, European Union (EU), the World Health Organization (WHO); as well as private sector bodies, such as Oxfam, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Open Society Institute and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Collaborations occur through scientific exchange, commissioning or sponsoring research, and consultancies, when staff are asked to provide specific advice. The focus of our collaborations is on the interface between scientific research, practice and policy, whether they are looking at current or historical concerns, or are concentrating on low-, middle- or high-income countries.