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Resources
Degree Resources
Guidelines for the Preparation and Processing of Theses and Dissertations (pdf)
Evaluation Resources
CDC Evaluation Resources
American Evaluation Association
Sources of Health Promotion Evidence
ChangeLab Solutions
“Throughout the nation, ChangeLab Solutions works with neighborhoods, cities, and states to transform communities with laws and policies that create lasting change. Our unique approach, backed by decades of solid research and proven results, helps the public and private sectors make communities more livable, especially for those who are at highest risk because they have the fewest resources…..Our website is packed with model policies, how-to guides, fact sheets, and other policy tools. Be sure to check out the TOOLS tab to search our full library of resources. You can also select a topic area from the four at the top of the page — Healthy Planning, Tobacco Control, Childhood Obesity, Healthy Housing — and explore the TOOLS tab in that section for resources organized by more specific categories.”
The Cochrane Collaboration
The Cochrane Collaboration is an international network striving to help healthcare providers, policy-makers, patients, and their advocates make well-informed decisions about healthcare. The collaboration prepares, updates, and promotes the accessibility of Cochrane Reviews, systematic reviews on evidence-based research in human health care and health policy, and CENTRAL, the largest collection of records of randomized controlled trials in the world.
Cochrane Public Health Group
The Cochrane Public Health Group seeks to fulfill the demand for a public health review group on complex public health topics that are outside the scope of existing Cochrane review groups but critical to decision making in public health. The Cochrane Public Health Group works to produce and publish Cochrane reviews on the effects of population- level public health interventions. The scope of the reviews will not replicate existing Cochrane Reviews but will address gaps in the Cochrane Library for reviews of the evidence on upstream, equity oriented public health interventions to improve population health outcomes.
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences Implementation Science
Implementation science (IS) is the study of methods to promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies into routine health care and public health settings to improve our impact on population health. This discipline is characterized by a variety of research designs and methodological approaches, partnerships with key stakeholder groups (e.g., patients, providers, organizations, systems, and/or communities), and the development and testing of ways to effectively and efficiently integrate evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies into routine health settings.
The IS Team, housed within the Office of the Director in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is engaged in a variety of activities to advance implementation research and practice.
The Guide to Community Preventive Services
The Community Guide is an online resource for evidence-based recommendations and findings about what works to improve public health and prevent disease in your community. All recommended programs and policies undergo a systematic review by a panel of experts. The Community Guide can be used to assist public health practitioners on a variety of topics including, adolescent health, tobacco, health equity, health communication, obesity or physical activity. The public may use the Community Guide to assist decision-making in programs and services, policies, education, funding, research, or in action.
Healthy People 2020 Topics & Objectives / Interventions & Resources
For all of the topical areas of Healthy People 2020, practitioners can navigate to their chosen health concern (e.g. heart disease & stroke), and then click on the tab that is labeled Interventions & Resources. In that folder is found a review of intervention evidence and best-practice recommendations. This is a dynamic resources that is updated over time.
High Impact HIV Prevention
In the United States, prevention efforts have averted nearly 350,000 HIV infections. However, approximately 1.2 million Americans are currently living with HIV. While current strategies are keeping new infection rates low, continued growth in the population living with HIV will lead to new infections if prevention and treatment efforts are not intensified. Now, in an effort to advance prevention efforts, CDC is supporting High Impact HIV Prevention methods. These methods are scientifically proven, cost effective, and scalable interventions targeted to specific populations. High Impact HIV Prevention strategies are driven to maximize the impact of prevention efforts for all populations at risk and support goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).
NCI Research Tested Intervention Programs
The National Cancer Institute’s Research Tested Intervention Program (RTIP) is an online directory for cancer control interventions and program materials. The purpose of RTIP is to provide program planners and public health practitioners’ access to research-tested materials. This online database provides a review of programs available for use in a community or clinical setting. Key features of RTIP include full program summaries, reviewed interventions by an expert panel, links to Using What Works, and links to Guide to Community Preventive Services.
Public Health Law Center
“The Public Health Law Center is a national non-profit organization of law and policy specialists that help health leaders, officials, and advocates use the law to advance public health. Founded in 2000, our organization today is a preeminent authority in U.S. public health policy and a respected legal resource for dozens of local, state, national and international health organizations. The center is located at William Mitchell College of Law, the largest law school in Minnesota and one of the top U.S. law schools in public interest law. “
SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) is an online registry of reviewed, rated, and supported mental health and substance abuse promotion, interventions, and treatment. The purpose of NREPP is to identify and provide access to quality information on tested interventions for informed decision-making. By assisting the public in identifying evidence-based approaches, SAMHSA is helping reduce the gap between scientific knowledge and practical application in the field.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence-based Programs
“To help identify programs effective in reducing these risks, since 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research and its partner, Child Trends, to conduct an independent systematic review of the evidence base on programs to reduce teen pregnancy, STIs, and associated sexual risk behaviors. The review identifies, assesses, and rates the rigor of program impact studies and describes the strength of evidence supporting different program models. Findings are used to identify program models meeting the criteria for the HHS List of Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs.”
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Guidelines
Research in the medical and preventive field is continuously growing. The need for an established set of clinical prevention standards in primary health care is important. The U.S. Preventative Service Task Force Guidelines strives to provide the latest recommendations for screening tests, counseling, and preventive medications to primary care practitioners. All recommendations undergo a rigorous review and assessment of existing peer-reviewed evidence. Guidelines include an evaluation of benefits and harms of each service based on demographics (age, sex, etc.). Created by an independent group of non-federal experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine, The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force Guidelines highlight the importance of including prevention in primary care and highlight the opportunities for improving delivery of effective services.
What Works for Health
Evidence based strategies implemented at the local, state, and federal levels can have a large impact on population health. What Works for Health is an interactive tool used to search a variety of strategies to improve health within your community. Organized by health factors of interest, this online resource provides suggested strategies based on current research practices. Strategies are listed based on evidence rating (strength of support/research) and can be filtered by specific decision makers (who are implementing the program/policy). To help you take action, What Works for Health also provides implementation examples, resources, citations, and its’ likely impact on disparities.
Sources for Health Promotion Data
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
BRFSS is the nation's premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. BRFSS collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories. BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world.
Census Bureau State and County Quick Facts
State and County QuickFacts provides frequently requested Census Bureau information at the national, state, county, and city level.
County Health Rankings
“The annual County Health Rankings measure vital health factors, including high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment, access to healthy foods, the quality of air and water, income, and teen births in nearly every county in America. The annual Rankings provide a revealing snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work and play. They provide a starting point for change in communities.”
Monitoring the Future
Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults. Each year, a total of approximately 50,000 8th, 10th and 12th grade students are surveyed”… regarding use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research
The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) brings together four of the nation's leading research funders – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – to address the problem of childhood obesity in America.
NCCOR focuses on efforts that have the potential to benefit children, teens, and their families, and the communities in which they live. A special emphasis is put on the populations and communities in which obesity rates are highest and rising the fastest: 1) African-Americans; 2) Hispanics; 3) Native Americans; 4) Asian/Pacific Islanders; 5) Children living in low-income communities.
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.
Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System
“PRAMS, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, is a surveillance project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments. PRAMS collects state-specific, population-based data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy.”
U.S. Department of Justice Crime and Violence Statistics
Health promotion goes beyond conventional medical problems, looking at community health needs in a wholistic way. Violence is a cause of physical and emotional injury, and also a social determinant of community health status. This site is a listing of data sources at the federal level related to crime and violence. Examples include the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey.
WHO World Health Data and Statistics
This is a source of statistics on global health status measures, by nation and region.
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
“The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors priority health-risk behaviors and the prevalence of obesity and asthma among youth and young adults. The YRBSS includes a national school-based survey conducted by CDC and state, territorial, tribal, and district surveys conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments.”
