HSRPP 2026 will feature a range of:
- Thought-provoking keynote speakers
- Engaging workshops on topics such as rapid synthesis reviews, core outcome sets and selection of outcomes, and communicating science to patients, the public, and policymakers
- Interesting research presentations in both oral and poster formats, covering a wide range of research methods in areas including intervention development and evaluation, methodological innovation, deprescribing, technology, pharmacy education, patient safety, polypharmacy, and many more.
Conference Theme
The theme for this year’s conference is “Following the science: generating and implementing evidence to improve health.” We became familiar with the phrase ‘Following the science’ over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s interesting to reflect five years on how science was used, misused and communicated during that time. The importance of objective evidence, generated through high-quality research, is more important than ever, and HSRPP 2026 will seek to present, discuss and disseminate such evidence.
Keynote Speakers
Tom Whipple
Tom is Science Writer at The Times. He has also written for the Guardian and The Economist. He was named Science Journalist of the Year at the Press Awards 2020 for his coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Mike Clarke
Mike is Director of the Northern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit and the Northern Ireland Methodology Hub, and Co-ordinating Editor of the Cochrane Methodology Review Group. He has 30 years' experience in the rigorous evaluation of the effects of health and social care, including numerous randomised trials, systematic reviews and other prospective studies.
Dr Sarah Gorst
Sarah is a methodologist within the Department of Health Data Science at the University of Liverpool. She has been working in the field of core outcome set development for over a decade, gaining expertise in health outcome selection and measurement, consensus methods, and patient and public involvement. Sarah co-ordinates the global COMET (Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials) Initiative, which aims to improve the quality and relevance of health research by improving the outcomes measured. COMET was the winner of the inaugural MRC Open Science Impact Prize in 2022.