Prevention research center-health department collaborations support public health's core competencies

Background: Enhancing public health core competencies of assessment, assurance, and policy development are essential to public health administration. Studies have demonstrated that academic institution and health department (HD) collaborations enhance the public health core competency of assurance; however, assessment and policy development have received less attention in literature. This study explores how collaborations among Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) and HDs enhance all public health core competencies. The PRCs, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are academic centers that conduct public health research and translate results into public health practice. Results from this study might help public health administrators strengthen core competencies through collaborations with academia.

Methods: We reviewed each PRC's progress report from fiscal year 2009 and 2010 and abstracted qualitative descriptions of PRC-HD collaborations. A grounded theory approach was used to describe dimensions and distribution of themes.

Results: 36 PRCs reported 201 collaborations during 2009 and 215 collaborations during 2010 with local, state, and tribal HDs. We identified fourteen themes among PRC-HD collaborations. Themes aligned with three core public health competencies of assessment, policy development, and assurance. Overall, collaborations among PRCs and HDs, while mutually beneficial, enhanced the relevance and scientific rigor of public health processes and programs.

Conclusions: Findings from this study demonstrate PRC-HD collaborations often enhanced multiple core competencies that could potentially lead to implementation of evidence-based interventions and continuous quality improvement of public health administration at local, state, and tribal levels. Further work is needed to measure long-term impact on population health.