Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107839

Gregory K. Steele, DrPH, MPH, Department of Public Health, Indiana University School of Medicine, 1050 Wishard Blvd. RG 4165, Indianapolis, IN 46202, 317 274 3174, gsteele@iupui.edu, Tess Weathers, MPH, Department of Public Health, Indiana University, 1050 Wishard Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, Joseph Gibson, PhD, Director of Epidemiology, Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County, 3838 N. Rural, Indianapolis, IN 46205, Susan Moriarty, MD, Director of Clinical Preventive Services, Maion County Health Department, 3838 N. Rural, Indianapolis, IN 46205, and Sandra Cummings, MSW, Chronic Disease Program, Marion County Health Department, 3838 North Rural Stret, Indianapolis, IN 46205.

The Indiana University Department of Public Health partnered with the Marion County Health Department to support a transition to Evidenced Based Public Health (EBPH) by evaluating their programs against EBPH recommendations in key health areas including smoking, childhood lead, and obesity. Within the framework of a six-step circular EBPH process we summarize the key stumbling blocks that hinder assimilation of EBPH into daily work activities;

1. Finding EBPH reviews is like detective work. There is no one website or search strategy that will yield all the evidence-based reviews for an area of interest.

2. Figuring out what is “evidence” is difficult. A quality assessment of documents against methodological standards is necessary.

3. If you rely solely on one evidence source you may be missing the mark. Cross-comparison of several reviews is indicated.

4. Finding, assessing, and comparing EBPH conclusions/recommendations is time consuming.

We propose two strategies the public health community can employ to make the practice of EBPH more accessible. First we recommend the formation of one premier website to regularly catalogue all available EBPH reviews on issues of public health importance. Second, we recommend the development and use of a tool to assess the quality of each review through adaptation of methodological standards established by the evidenced-based medicine discipline. Implementation of these two recommendations would significantly reduce the barriers to initiation of the circular EBPH process. If public health is collectively serious about coming full circle with EBPH, such measures are necessary.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to identify barriers to the implementation of EBPH activities in a local health department.
• Participants will be able to identify successful strategies that enable them to utilize EBPH activities in their practice of public health.

Keywords: Evidence Based Practice, Community Health Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.