Understanding practice variation in public health through the Washington PBRN

The Washington Public Health Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) is designed to support research that examines variations in public health practice across local areas and opportunities for practice improvement through studies of comparative effectiveness. Led by the Public Health-Seattle & King County local health department, the research network includes the local health departments serving the nine largest jurisdictions within the state, along with the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials, and research partners at University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine and School of Nursing. The network focuses on cross-jurisdictional public health practice issues relevant to front-line public health service delivery. An initial research project is comparing local health departments' approaches to communicable disease reporting, investigation, and response activities, with a special focus on the novel H1N1 virus. Long-term research interests include projects that focus on public health financing, quality improvement processes, health disparities, workforce competency, and community health assessment.