LSE Health aims to expand and improve conceptual frameworks, apply new methodologies, encourage debate about issues raised by research developments and introduce new questions and themes that will contribute to policy discussions.

The centre brings together diverse disciplinary perspectives and cutting edge methods. Our work is unique in its commitment to bridging the gap between research and policy; we encourage interdisciplinary research that benefits policy makers and health professionals worldwide. 

Since our establishment, we have developed significantly, bringing in a substantial number of research awards and producing over a thousand peer-reviewed journal papers, books and reports in the last decade alone.

Our contributions to health policy and practice have been recognised in numerous ways, and notably the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (awarded in 2009). 

LSE Health promotes and draws upon the multidisciplinary expertise of 50 staff members, a significant number of affiliated academics from across the School, a thriving community of postgraduate students, and a group of highly esteemed visitors.

LSE Health is affiliated to the Department of Health Policy and our staff contribute to the teaching programmes at the department. We also run the Market Access Academy, the first collaborative Market Access management development programme, aimed at present and future Access Leaders within the pharmaceutical industry. 

LSE Health is a founding member of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, which supports and promotes evidence-based health policy-making through comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the dynamics of health systems in Europe.

The Observatory publishes Eurohealth, a quarterly periodical which has become a primary platform for policy makers, academics and politicians to express their views on European and comparative health policy developments.

The centre also hosts the African Health Observatory - Platform on Health Systems & Policies (AHOP); the Medical Technology Research Group (MTRG); the Global Health Surgery Unit (GSPU); the Ageing and Health Incentives Lab (AHIL); LSE Health Digital and the Health Inequalities Lab. 

Together with the Department of Health Policy we host the LSE Global Health Initiative (GHI), a cross-departmental research platform set up to increase the coherence and visibility of global health research at LSE, both internally and externally. It supports interdisciplinary engagement and showcases LSE’s ability to apply rigorous social science research to emerging global health challenges.    

The centre has benefited from funding for our research programmes from a variety of sources, including public bodies, charitable trusts, foundations and private corporations. Currently, our research is supported by (among others) the Economic and Social Research Council UK (ESRC), the European Commission, the World Health Organization (WHO), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), The Commonwealth Fund, and the Wellcome Trust. 

In addition, the expertise of our centre are frequently drawn on by governments, charities, medical technology providers, health insurers and other key stakeholders. Over the past 7 years, we have provided advice to over 30 governments worldwide on various aspects of health systems reform. This includes advising on pharmaceutical policy reform in China, health financing reforms in Austria, Kuwait, and Malaysia, as well as resource allocation and reform of the primary care system in Singapore. Additionally, we have collaborated closely with European Union Presidencies and produced influential reports for the governments of the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, and Belgium.

Notably, our Director, Professor Elias Mossialos, and Chair, Professor Alistair McGuire, co-chaired the LSE-Lancet Commission on the Future of the NHS, addressing the main challenges facing the NHS in both the immediate future and over the next 10 to 15 years. During a 36-month period, commissioners from a wide range of disciplines across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland focused on the pertinent challenges facing the NHS, culminating in the release of a report containing a series of policy recommendations in 2021.