Clinical trials

The University of Plymouth has been named a Centre of Excellence by international health research organisation, the Joanna Briggs Institute.

Based at the University of Adelaide, Australia, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) offers healthcare providers around the world the best available evidence to inform their clinical decision-making at the point of care.

The JBI has nearly 80 Centres of Excellence all over the world, which have established themselves as a prestigious hub of expertise, and through which high quality programs of evidence synthesis, transfer and implementation are achieved.

The recognition was given to the University’s Centre for Innovations in Health and Social Care in the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, which has already been a Joanna Briggs collaborating centre since 2012.

Having the mark will now enable the University to play a full role in the Joanna Briggs collaboration working alongside other Centres of Excellence from across the world as well conduct high quality systematic reviews and provide leadership, support, guidance and mentorship to novice groups.

The Centres of Excellence also work closely with JBI affiliated groups as part of the Joanna Briggs Collaboration (JBC); an international network that strategically promotes and supports evidence informed approaches to the delivery of health policy and practice in members’ respective regions.

Professor Bridie Kent, Director of the University of Plymouth Centre for Innovations in Health and Social Care: A Joanna Briggs Institute Centre of Excellence, said: 

“It’s brilliant that the University has been recognised in this way, as it shows our commitment to health care research and using it to inform policy and practice. It’s so important that research is used to make the key decisions in healthcare practice, as the data comes directly from service users and their experiences, as well as from analyses of existing treatments and practices. We will be offering an external JBI course later this year, for people to find out more about the importance of the Institute and its work, and how key it is for clinical decision-making to come from the best evidence available.”

The University is offering JBI Systematic Review Training on 26–29 June, where participants can learn how to develop a focused question, search for relevant literature and appraise and synthesise evidence arising from research. 

Participants who successfully complete the program can become Certified Reviewers, accredited for a period of two years as authors in the Joanna Briggs Institute Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports (JBISRIR).