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Civil society and public health research in the European Union new member states

Introduction: Civil society organisations (CSOs) are not-for-profit organisations working for the public interest with concerns complementary to public health. We investigated the contribution of CSOs in public health research. Methods: Within a European project STEPS (Strengthening Engagement with Public Health Research), CSOs with interests in health were identified in the new member states of the European Union (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta, and Cyprus) and workshops organised, held in their own languages. The reports of the workshops were translated into English and drawn together through a framework analysis. Results: CSOs can contribute in all stages of the research cycle, through championship, priority-setting, capacity building and generation of resources, sharing and application of the research results, and dissemination across their network of contacts. There have been successful CSO–researcher collaborations in public health fields. Funding is important, and ministries of health and public institutions should interact more with CSOs. Barriers include attitudes, technical understanding across public health fields. Conclusion: There is little European empirical literature linking health CSOs and research: our results indicate benefits and further opportunities. In contrast to biomedicine’s link with industry, public health research can align with civil society in not-for-profit research. CSOs are important for European integration, and their contribution should be better recognised at international level.