The CHA actively encourages research and evaluation in community hospitals in order to inform practice and improve patient care.
- Applying knowledge from research
- Transferring learning from good practice
- Informing planning for appropriate services
- Sharing ways in which communities support their community hospital
- Securing excellence in patient care
- Bringing new knowledge, information, evidence, updates and resources on community hospitals.
The CHA has been making a case for a funded programme of research for many years, and is delighted that the NIHR has now accorded this topic a priority. The CHA sits on the project boards of the cross-study group and the research teams. Our research network actively supports the work of the teams, such as by commenting on surveys, supporting follow-ups to surveys, and helping to validate and interpret findings.