The National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services & Systems Research (PHSSR), which is located in the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, will manage $1.4 million in new research awards for Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) in 11 states across the country.  The funds, which are provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, are granted as Dissemination and Implementation Research to Improve Value (DIRECTIVE) awards and will support projects to examine the types of resources, partnerships, infrastructures, and inter-organizational coordination that best facilitates the execution of evidence-based prevention programs in public health agencies.

Investigators in each of the award-winning projects will assess both the quality and the costs associated with alternative methods and strategies for delivering public health services, in order to determine their comparative effectiveness and value.

“Evidence-based practices and policies can promote a healthier nation, but how those practices and policies are put into place in real-world settings can greatly enhance or dilute their effectiveness,” explained Dr. Glen Mays, director of the Coordinating Center.  “This research will help us identify the best strategies for maximizing public health system contributions to our nation’s health.”

The funded projects include: PBRNs in California and Alabama that will study prevention, screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases; PBRNs in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas that will look at implementation of quality improvement projects; PBRNs in Connecticut and Massachusetts that will work with evidence-based food inspections; and PBRNs in Washington, Wisconsin, New York, and Oregon that will study local health department service delivery.

For a complete story, please go to: http://uknow.uky.edu/content/practice-based-research-networks-funded-study-differences-public-health-delivery-strategies.