Preventing Chronic Disease | Tools for Implementing an Evidence-Based Approach in Public Health Practice - CDC

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Preventing Chronic Disease | Tools for Implementing an Evidence-Based Approach in Public Health Practice - CDC

Tools for Implementing an Evidence-Based Approach in Public Health Practice

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• Abstract
• Introduction
• The Need for Evidence-Based Public Health
• Training Programs
• Key Elements
• Putting Evidence to Work
• Acknowledgments
• Author Information
• References

Julie A. Jacobs, MPH; Ellen Jones, PhD; Barbara A. Gabella, MSPH; Bonnie Spring, PhD; Ross C. Brownson, PhD

Suggested citation for this article: Jacobs JA, Jones E, Gabella BA, Spring B, Brownson RC. Tools for Implementing an Evidence-Based Approach in Public Health Practice. Prev Chronic Dis 2012;9:110324. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd9.110324.

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Abstract

Increasing disease rates, limited funding, and the ever-growing scientific basis for intervention demand the use of proven strategies to improve population health. Public health practitioners must be ready to implement an evidence-based approach in their work to meet health goals and sustain necessary resources. We researched easily accessible and time-efficient tools for implementing an evidence-based public health (EBPH) approach to improve population health. Several tools have been developed to meet EBPH needs, including free online resources in the following topic areas: training and planning tools, US health surveillance, policy tracking and surveillance, systematic reviews and evidence-based guidelines, economic evaluation, and gray literature. Key elements of EBPH are engaging the community in assessment and decision making; using data and information systems systematically; making decisions on the basis of the best available peer-reviewed evidence (both quantitative and qualitative); applying program-planning frameworks (often based in health-behavior theory); conducting sound evaluation; and disseminating what is learned.

Author Information

Corresponding Author: Ross C. Brownson, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, Kingshighway Building, 660 S Euclid, Campus Box 8109, St. Louis, MO 63110. Telephone: 314-362-9641. E-mail: rbrownson@wustl.edu.

Author Affiliations: Julie A. Jacobs, Prevention Research Center in St. Louis, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; Ellen Jones, School of Health Related Professions, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi; Barbara A. Gabella, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado; Bonnie Spring, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

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