Oral

The growth of effectiveness in health care has owed much to good evidence of what works. Public health interventions seem to be unable to have the same degree of clarity of outcomes and struggle to achieve evidence-informed rather than evidence-based policies. If Public Health Associations are to play their strong roles of advocacy and grass-roots involvement, how much evidence do they need and how should this be interpreted and used? Recent papers (1,2) in the Federation pages address these questions and stress the importance of public health ethics in seeking answers; an important conclusion is that such questions should be recognised as ‘not issues of scientific fact but issues of right and wrong’. The sessions will look at evidence for advocacy, considering the Cochrane approach and other ways of collecting evidence and experience; then consider healthy community development and the value of local involvement. (1) Hunt, SA, Borisch N and Mauron A (2011): Public health: how much evidence is needed to support our policies? Journal of Public Health Policy,32, 135-141 (2) Gatherer A (2011): Evidence, values and ‘right versus right’ dilemmas in public health practice. Journal of Public Health Policy, in the press

Session Objectives: Describe the evidence available for public health policy development. Discuss the role of Public Health Associations in the use of evidence in public health advocacy. Assess the significance of the session’s material in building healthy communities.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)