BMJ announces new collection

The BMJ has announced it is to publish a collection of scholarly work: Research Priorities for Future Shocks. This set of peer reviewed analysis articles and opinion pieces aim to address post-covid priorities for the research community, to help the UK better prepare for and mitigate the impact of future health crises, added the publisher.

We don’t know when, the publisher continued, but the next health shock–a sudden and extreme change that impacts a health system—is coming. Such shocks are not limited to respiratory infections like covid-19 but may also relate to conflict, climate change, financial crises, or natural disasters.

According to the BMJ, the collection has two main themes: research priorities to develop UK resilience to health shocks in the future, and research priorities to mitigate the longer-term impact of covid-19. It considers various topics, including non-pharmaceutical interventions, antimicrobial resistance, multidisciplinary working, non-communicable diseases, child mental health, social care, foresight approaches, workforce, public trust, and equity.

Featuring contributions from experts, the collection considers where research is most urgently needed to inform government policies and clinical guidelines. The BMJ says notable articles include:

• Foresight Approaches for Future Health Shocks: Integration into Policy Making and Accompanying Research Priorities by Christina Pagel and colleagues [or et al]: This article emphasises the importance of integrating foresight methods into health policy, advocating for a forward-thinking framework to prepare us for unforeseen challenges.
• Protecting Healthcare and Patient Pathways from Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance by Derek Cocker and colleagues focuses on safeguarding health services with strategies to mitigate the risks of novel infections and antibiotic resistant pathogens.
• Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions: Evaluating Challenges and Priorities for Future Health Shocks by Azeem Majeed and colleagues calls for robust evaluation mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of interventions such as lockdowns and mask wearing to provide policymakers with timely evidence.
• Working Across Multiple Disciplines in Research to Respond to Shocks by Amitava Banerjee and colleagues advocates for more collaborative approaches to research, recognising that diverse perspectives are essential in addressing complex health challenges.
• Building Public Trust as Preparedness for Future Health Shocks: A Research Agenda by Heidi Larson and colleagues highlights the critical role of trust for health interventions to be effective and proposes research priorities to enhance public confidence during crises.
• Workforce Research Priorities for Resilience to Future Health Shocks—and the Workforce Crisis by Kieran Walshe and colleagues addresses the urgent need for research on workforce resilience, emphasising the importance of the health and social care workforce to mitigating the impact of health shocks.
• Non-Communicable Diseases: Research Priorities to Mitigate Impact of Health System Shocks by Ami Banerjee and colleagues considers the complex associations among NCDs and health shocks, calling for strategic planning to minimise harm related to NCDs during and after health emergencies.
• Neither Seen nor Heard: The Evidence Gap on the Effect of COVID-19 on Mental Health in Children by Tamsin Ford and colleagues advocates for focused efforts to understand and address the mental health challenges facing children post-pandemic.
• Adelina Comason Social Care and Ebere Okerekeon Equity: These short opinion pieces offer pertinent insights into the importance of inclusive policies that promote health equity and the need to strengthen social care systems, which are essential to minimising harm from the next health shock.

The BMJ says this collection is a vital resource for policymakers, health professionals, and researchers. It identifies priorities for the UK research community that can foster informed policy making to enhance the health system and public health resilience. It will be invaluable to government, healthcare, and public health leaders, researchers, and research funders in the UK and internationally, the publisher continued.

Richard Hurley, collections editor at The BMJ, said, "We know the next health shock is coming. Focused research is crucial to ensure resilient health systems and to minimise the impact on healthcare, impact on health outcomes, and deaths. This collection moves debates on research priorities forward, promoting equitable, patient and public coproduced, interdisciplinary, and international collaboration. This research is essential to building robust health and care systems ready to tackle future health shocks head-on."