Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences

Four colleagues seated in a small meeting circle with laptops; one man smiling while others listen and speak.

Introducing a new blog series, The importance of healthcare innovation: Reflections from MSc in Global Healthcare Leadership students. 🌍💡

First up, Didier Chaukron shares his insights from the module on addressing challenges within healthcare fintech.

Read more: https://f.mtr.cool/dsqejcljve

British children are growing taller but not for the right reasons | A new analysis of Child Measurement Programme data from England, Scotland, and Wales challenges recent reports suggesting children in Britain are getting shorter. The analysis, conducted by

NEW: Oxford researchers found average height among British children has risen over 20 years - but the increase is linked to rising childhood obesity and widening inequality, not better health.

Find out more from @oxprimarycare.bsky.social ⬇️

International Advisory Board to strengthen global leadership in primary care Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences announces International Advisory Board to advance its Strategy 2025–2030 and global collaboration

NEWS: International Advisory Board to strengthen global leadership in primary care

@oxprimarycare.bsky.social  announces International Advisory Board to advance its Strategy 2025–2030.

The algorithm works. Now what? Reflections from Oxford's AI in Healthcare event AI tools in healthcare often work in isolation but stall in practice. Reflections from Oxford's AI in Healthcare event on why implementation, not algorithms, is the real bottleneck – and what primary care research brings to the problem.

The NHS 10 Year Plan commits £10bn to digital transformation and bets big on AI. But at Oxford's AI in Healthcare event, the recurring question was what happens when the algorithm works and the system around it doesn't.

British children are growing taller but not for the right reasons New research from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences challenges recent reports suggesting children in Britain are getting shorter to reveal that average child height has actually ...

British children aren’t shrinking, despite recent claims, they’re actually getting taller ⬆️

New research shows this isn’t a simple good news story though. Height gains are largely driven by rising obesity among poorer children, reflecting deepening health inequalities.

Can losing weight improve psoriasis? What the evidence shows Evidence from multiple trials links weight loss with milder symptoms and improved wellbeing in people with psoriasis.

'Research now shows that, for people who are overweight, losing weight can improve both the severity of psoriasis and overall quality of life.'

Read more from the @oxprimarycare.bsky.social's Sarah Morrow ⬇️

Driving health equity through leadership | Saïd Business School Health inequities persist across systems, regions and populations and leadership plays a critical role in addressing them.

Join us Thursday for 'Driving Health Equity Through Leadership' 🌍

Oxford faculty, students & alumni share insights on advancing health equity through policy, healthcare delivery, and global organisations.

📅 5 March, 2–3pm 💻 Online 🎙 Laura Davidson

www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/events/drivi...

New study questions the evidence behind behaviour-change communication guidance for GPs Advice on how general practice staff should talk to adult patients about behaviour change is common, but new research from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences found that this behav...

Talking to patients about diet, smoking or alcohol is common for GPs. 🥗🚭 But is guidance on how to have these conversations evidence-based?

New systematic review in @bmc.springernature.com from a team including @charlottealbury.bsky.social & @jlivbanks.bsky.social suggests often not 🤔

Smoking remains stubbornly higher among disadvantaged groups, new research confirms New research finds people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage are more likely to smoke, more addicted, and less likely to attempt to quit – a pattern that holds across different types of disadvantage.

NEWS: Smoking remains stubbornly higher among disadvantaged groups

A joint research study has shown that people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage are more likely to smoke, more addicted, and less likely to attempt to quit.

The world of Femtech Digital fertility trackers promise control and empowerment, but how are they reshaping women’s experiences of conception and care? In this blog, Kate Sheridan draws on her DPhil, Femtech for Fertility...

Digital fertility trackers promise control & empowerment, but how are they reshaping women’s experiences of conception & care?

Through her DPhil research & a public engagement event, Kate Sheridan explores their impact on reproductive norms, healthcare & imagined futures of women’s health tech 👇

YouTube video by Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Science Guest Lecture Series: Prof Sarah Stock - Breakthroughs in Women’s Health, In Utero, Wellcome LEAP

Watch now: Prof Sarah Stock presents the groundbreaking In Utero programme, developing non‑invasive tools aimed at halving stillbirth rates and transforming antenatal care worldwide. Thanks to Prof Stock for an inspiring talk. Watch here: Guest Lecture Series. youtu.be/C62BpekkURk?...

Side-by-side portraits of dissertation award winners Amaani Khan and Stephanie Fraser, both smiling, with outdoor and city backgrounds.

Congratulations to recently completed students Amaani Khan and Stephanie Fraser on winning this year’s MSc in Translational Health Sciences outstanding dissertation award.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/4rmKeQb

“Everybody who comes onto this course leaves feeling like their world view has been changed, that their way of thinking has been challenged”

Dr Asli Kalin, GP and co-lead for the Global Health module on the MSc in Translational Health Sciences programme shares her thoughts: https://bit.ly/4rkuOfw

Headshot of Dr Rachna Begh

Dr Rachna Begh, MSc in Translational Health Sciences deputy course director, shares her experiences teaching on the programme, why students choose to take the course and the amazing feedback she’s received from students and alumni.

📽️ Watch Rachna's interview: https://bit.ly/4asnOad

Health Advice From A.I. Chatbots Is Frequently Wrong, Study Shows

ICYMI: Insightful piece by @teddyrosenbluth.bsky.social @nytimes.com highlights new research from @oii.ox.ac.uk and @oxprimarycare.bsky.social showing AI chatbots were no better than search engines at providing medical advice. Senior author Dr Adam Mahdi, OII. More: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...

Smoking remains stubbornly higher among disadvantaged groups, new research confirms New research finds people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage are more likely to smoke, more addicted, and less likely to attempt to quit – a pattern that holds across different types of disadvant...

However you measure disadvantage – income, education, housing, occupation – the pattern is the same: higher smoking rates, stronger addiction, harder to quit.

New study analysing nearly 200,000 adults in England, 2014–2023.

AI chatbots give inaccurate medical advice says Oxford Uni study It found people using AI for health reasons found it hard to identify what advice they should trust.

ICYMI: A new study from @oii.ox.ac.uk and @oxprimarycare.bsky.social, carried out in partnership with @mlcommons.org and other institutions warns of risks of AI chatbots giving medical advice. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

NEWS! A new study from @oii.ox.ac.uk and @oxprimarycare.bsky.social, carried out in partnership with @mlcommons.org and other institutions warns of risks of AI chatbots giving medical advice. More: www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news-events/... 1/5

A photo of Michelle Kwok holding a large stack of patient files standing in an office doorway.

What does leadership look like when plans unravel before mid-morning?

MSc Global Healthcare Leadership student Michelle Kwok reflects on delivering allergy care in northern Québec, exploring ethical leadership and decision-making where uncertainty is the norm.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4q2IfiJ

How can healthcare tackle the climate crisis? 🌎

Three students – Dr Louisa Chenciner, Dr Monika Chowaniec, and Dr Ravi Lukha – share experiences of the new Sustainable Health Care module, part of our Translational Health Sciences programme.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3CorJWW

Turning a blind eye on children with cancer is not an option: a father’s personal perspective A health economist and father reflects on how his family's experience with childhood bone cancer exposed stark disparities in cancer innovation. Drawing on life inside an NHS oncology ward, he argues ...

This #WorldCancerDay, health economist and father Apostolos Tsiachristas reflects on how his family's experience with childhood bone cancer exposed stark disparities in cancer innovation.

Renewed scientific, policy & societal commitment is needed to ensure we don't turn away from these children 👇

Who gets menopause treatment – and who is left out? Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one of the most effective treatments for menopausal symptoms, yet a major new international study led by researchers from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care H...

"Too often, women’s background or health status appears to influence whether they are offered or take up HRT."

New research by @drjenny-hirst.bsky.social in @bjog.bsky.social shows that background, health & access to care all influence who uses #HRT rather than decisions shaped by women's needs 👇

A photo of Dr Anne Ferrey, pictured smiling, wearing a green blouse, standing outdoors.

📽️ MSc Translational Health Sciences Course Director Dr Anne Ferrey shares her view on the programme’s collaborative teaching and her research at the intersection of behavioural science & arts and health, featuring creative crafting projects in Iraq.
 
Watch Anne's video: https://bit.ly/49L0h45

Thanks to Prof Stephen Duckett for an insightful NDPCHS Guest Lecture on Australia’s primary care reform. 💰 Covering new GP incentives to boost no‑cost visits to 90% and 👥 workforce changes supporting multidisciplinary care. Great discussion comparing primary care global systems.

@amjhypertension.bsky.social

Reducing salt in everyday foods could prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks and strokes, new study finds A new study led by researchers in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences has found that if the UK food industry had met the government’s voluntary 2024 salt reduction targets, substan...

NEW: Cutting salt in everyday foods could prevent 100,000+ heart disease cases and 25,000 strokes.

If 2024 government salt reduction targets were met:

❤️ substantial improvements in cardiovascular health
👛 save the NHS £1bn
🧑‍🍳 All without the public changing eating habits

Stopping weight-loss drugs linked to faster regain than ending diet programmes finds new review People tend to regain weight rapidly after stopping weight-loss drugs – and faster than after ending behavioural weight loss programmes – according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis from department researchers published in The BMJ today.

NEWS: Stopping weight-loss drugs linked to faster regain than ending diet programmes finds new review

Real-world data shows around half of people discontinue GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment within 12 months, according to researchers at @oxprimarycare.bsky.social

MGHL Matriculation

MSc Global Healthcare Leadership student Michelle Kwok reflects on the start of the programme in her new blog. Drawing on her work in Canada, she explores leadership through context, listening and shared experience - from matriculation to debating at the Oxford Union.

Read: f.mtr.cool/kwymyrjojc

A collage showing a university setting: students in a classroom, a lecturer pointing at a screen, and graduates in caps and gowns celebrating.

Considering postgraduate study at Oxford? The main Oxford scholarship deadline is 28 January  – just one week to go.

Apply now for courses with this deadline, including our MSc Translational Health Sciences and Evidence-Based Health Care programmes.

Learn more: https://f.mtr.cool/jogftlabps

Pathways into emergency care and what they reveal about inequality Emergency departments are central to the NHS, but inequalities in emergency care may begin well before patients arrive. Drawing on new evidence, this blog explores how socioeconomic deprivation shapes...

Inequalities in emergency care start well before patients arrive at A&E 👩‍⚕️

From @catianicodemo.bsky.social & team, our latest blog explores how socioeconomic deprivation shapes routes into A&E and why referral pathways, more than deprivation itself, influence patient experiences & outcomes 👇