Recorded presentation

Hugh Tilson, MD, DrPH, Epidemiology and Health Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 261 Rosenau, CD# 7400, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, 919-966-9275, hugh_tilson@unc.edu

A continuing concern of many in the public health community is that there is no professional group of peers dedicated to the issue of public health systems research. To this end, the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council) has taken an active role promoting the need to build the evidence base for public health practice. Specifically, the Council developed a Public Health Systems Research (PHSR) agenda framework to prioritize research needs, convened an annual PHSR Leadership Forum meeting during the APHA annual meeting since 2001, convened funding organizations at a meeting in Washington D.C. to ensure that major funding organizations support the strengthening of PHSR, and worked with AcademyHealth to develop a PHSR Affiliate and convene its meeting annually as part of AcademyHealth’s main research meeting.

The Institute of Medicine Report, “The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century,” echoed the growing need for PHSR by recommending the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Council and other public health system partners, develop a research agenda and estimate the funding needed to build the evidence base that will guide policy making for public health practice.

The Forum has played a key role building political support for advancing PHSR. Building on this success, the purpose of reconvening the Forum is to bring public health leaders together to advance the PHSR recommendations set forth in the recently published IOM report, to devise strategies to assist CDC, if necessary, advance a national public health research agenda, and to continue building momentum to develop a national PHSR agenda.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the current state of public health systems research.
• Discuss developments in the field of public health research and public health systems research.
• Gain insight into perspectives and initiatives of organizations supporting public health services research.
• Develop recommendations and strategies to advance the recommendations set forth in the IOM Report around PHSR and establish a national PHSR agenda.
• Develop recommendations and strategies to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its efforts to advance a national public health research agenda.

Keywords: Public Health Research, Public Health Infrastructure

Related Web page: www.phf.org/Link/tools.htm#PHSR

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation