Guide to Community Preventive Services: A tool for successful population health planning and policy development

Background/Issue: PHNs are on the forefront of planning and implementing local health programs policies. The Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide) is a CDC-associated resource to help PHNs and other public health professionals tailor evidence-based programs and policies to improve population health in their own communities.

Description: An appointed Task Force of independent public health research and prevention experts collaborates with CDC staff and representatives from health oriented organizations to conduct systematic reviews of published research. Liaisons from the Quad Council and other health organizations contribute to Task Force discussions about the systematic reviews and their dissemination. As a result, the Community Guide recommendations inform users about which program and policy interventions are supported by scientific evidence, are likely to be successful in specific communities, and are most likely to be cost effective.

Lessons Learned: We provide examples of how PHNs have contributed to the development of the Community Guide and share how they have used the Community Guide to plan and implement population-focused health programs found on the Community Guide website.

Implications/Recommendations: PHNs should consult Community Guide recommendations for population-focused evidence when planning, tailoring, and implementing public health policies and programs to increase the likelihood of success and decrease waste given increasingly limited resources for public health. PHNs are integral to the development, dissemination, and use of the Community Guide recommendations.