CEDAR’s research work can be broadly divided into four areas: determinants, interventions, method development and evidence synthesis.
Determinants
CEDAR is building understanding of determinants and associations in dietary and activity behaviour through research studies in a range of populations and settings.
Interventions
CEDAR conducts research into planned public health intervention studies, those developed more informally as a component of real-life public health practice, and ‘natural experiments’ in which the impact of natural and planned changes to the environment, policy and practice can be observed. A particular focus of CEDAR’s work is to make better use of natural experiments in terms of evaluation and learning for future intervention.
Modelling public health interventions
Modelling can help us answer questions that no one empirical study can answer. By modeling we can estimate the longer term health effects of interventions, consider ‘what if scenarios’, and address issues of cost and cost-effectiveness. Within CEDAR two key models have been developed and used in a variety of projects: the Cost and Effect of Disease and Risk Reduction model and the Integrated Transport and Health Impact Modelling Tool (ITHIM).
Method development
CEDAR is contributing to the the development of methods for evaluating natural experiments and complex public health intervention. For instance, we are applying the outputs of technology for health geography such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in novel ways, and we have contributed to key pieces of guidance on natural experiments and public health interventions.
Evidence synthesis
CEDAR has completed a number of systematic reviews of evidence on physical activity and health. A systematic review is a literature review focused on a research question that tries to bring together and assess all high quality research evidence relevant to that question. Systematic reviews of high-quality research are crucial to building the evidence base for effective public health intervention.
Further information
- Read our formal Objectives.
- Visit our study directory for brief summaries of some of the studies that CEDAR is conducting or is involved in, and read some case studies of our work.
- For all CEDAR academic references, visit our Publications section.
- If you are unfamiliar with any of the technical terms used in this section, you can refer to our Glossary.
- For more about how we are working to make our research useful for public health practice and policy, visit our Work with CEDAR section.
