OAHP Priority: Support development, delivery and coordination of strategic plans across the Partners
OAHP champions research literacy across the clinical and allied health disciplines to help build and maintain the foundations for robust, interdisciplinary health and care research.
Locally and nationally, complex issues impact the Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions (NMAHPs). These professions are critical for the provision of high-quality healthcare and the delivery of research that is embedded in clinical and community settings.
An in-depth understanding of the issues and challenges is needed to inform local and national policy, and in 2022 the OAHP Board endorsed plans to develop the Oxford Workforce Living Lab, led by Professor Cathy Henshall and colleagues at Oxford Brookes University.
The lab sets out to make a practical, sustained impact on NMAHP retention and recruitment across the region. Its research uses the Oxford NMAHP environment as a microcosm for national comparison and contrast.
Three research themes have been identified within the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire (BOB) ICS:
- Retention of early-career NMAHPS
- Student workforce
- Clinical academic pathways and research capacity.
Through three workstreams of robust qualitative research, the Oxford Workforce Living Lab aims to make a practical sustained impact on NMAHP retention and recruitment issues.