Six new research projects aimed at improving Ireland's health services have been awarded three years' funding by the interim Health Information and Quality Authority's (HIQA) Research Awards.
The successful projects were chosen from more than 70 entries and will be conducted in the areas of cancer screening, general practice, the disability sector and hospital care.
"The six projects were chosen on what would best inform us and have most impact on patient care in this country," said Tracy Cooper, chief executive of HIQA.
"We will support the researchers all the way and make sure we invest in something that will have a strong and important effect on our work."
One project will look at developing and implementing a national colorectal cancer screening programme. It will examine the possibility of using faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) as a first-line screening tool for the cancer.
"Studies in other countries have shown that mortality can be reduced by 30-50 per cent, which in Ireland would mean 300 fewer deaths," said researcher Prof Colm O'Morain.
"Colorectal cancer affects males and females equally and is the most common form of cancer in Europe," he said.
In three years, a report will be published on the study and submitted to relevant policymakers with the aim of developing a national screening service.
Another of the successful projects will investigate ways of collecting data from general practitioners to determine the overall health of the population.
"The general practitioner is the patient's first point of contact with the healthcare service, yet we have very little information on the attitudes and reasons people go there," said researcher Dr Claire Collins from the Irish College of General Practitioners.
The project involves creating a diagnostic code to enable GPs record generic data on the morbidity of patients, their health- seeking behaviour, the consultation process and the diagnostic outcome.
"If it is successful, it will be possible to expand it, ultimately to a national level, and it will help us to describe who is attending, why, what the GP does and what treatment they get," said Dr Collins.
The new Health and Information Quality Authority will be established on a statutory basis over the next few months. It will aim to ensure that healthcare services meet nationally agreed standards, as well as develop health information systems.