What is Evidence Based Public Health?
Evidence based public health is "the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective programs and policies in public health through application of principles of scientific reasoning." The process involves integrating science-based interventions with community preferences to improve the health of populations.
Kohatsu et al. Am J Prev Med 2004;27(5)
Brownson et al. Evidence-Based Public Health (2010) Oxford University Press. EBPHBookCover.JPG
What is the Benefit of Evidence-Based Public Health?
Increased focus on evidence-based public health (EBPH) has numerous direct and indirect benefits, including access to more and higher-quality information on what works, a higher likelihood of successful programs and policies being implemented, greater workforce productivity, and more efficient use of public
and private resources.
What is an Evidence-Based Program?
We define an evidence-based program or policy as one in which:
• Decisions are made using the best available peer-reviewed evidence,
• Data and information systems are used systematically,
• Program-planning frameworks are applied (that often have a foundation in behavioral science theory),
• The community is engaged in assessment and decision making,
• Sound evaluation is conducted, and
• What is learned is disseminated to key stakeholders and decision makers.
Click HERE to learn about the EBPH course offered by the PRC-STL.