Applied health research, as defined for purposes of funding support by NLCAHR, involves research on human, individual, and population health issues that is intended to have an impact on:

• The health of individuals
• The health of populations and communities
• Decisions about government health policy
• Health system organization
• Healthcare delivery

Applied health research includes work on:

• Health and community services and policies
• Health systems organization
• Population health
• Public health
• Community health
• Epidemiology
• Health technology assessment
• Knowledge translation
• Clinical practices

Projects that consist primarily of biomedical research or clinical drug trials are not considered to be applied health research.

Applied health research involves work in a wide range of disciplines and can be multi-disciplinary and collaborative. It can employ quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies. It is designed, unlike local quality assurance studies, to produce findings that can be generalized beyond the specific case or sample being studied.