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Advancing the public health workforce to achieve organizational excellence
Draft AHD Research Agenda Now Available for Public Comment

Date: 3/18/2016 12:23 PM

Related Categories: Council on Linkages, Workforce Development

Topic: Council on Linkages, Workforce Development

Tag: Academic Health Department, Academic Health Department Learning Community, Council on Linkages, Email Newsletter Content, PHF E-News, Research, Workforce Development

Author: Kathleen Amos

​Kathleen Amos, MLIS, Assistant Director, Academic/Practice Linkages, Public Health Foundation
 
Do health departments that participate in academic health department (AHD) partnerships implement evidence-based practices to a greater degree than health departments in non-AHD settings? Are health departments in AHD partnerships more successful at achieving accreditation than health departments in non-AHD settings? Are academic programs? These are just a few of the questions that comprise the newest AHD Learning Community initiative: developing a research agenda focused on the AHD model.
 
Structured around a logic model designed for evaluating AHDs, this research agenda explores questions related to measuring the value of AHD partnerships in enhancing public health and determining best practices critical to partnership success, and suggests opportunities for collaborative research on the structure, functions, and impacts of AHDs. A small team with expertise in both public health practice and academia, led by AHD Learning Community member Paul Campbell Erwin, MD, DrPH, University of Tennessee Department of Public Health, has recently completed a draft of this research agenda and now needs your help!
 
Feedback on the draft AHD Research Agenda is currently being accepted and will be used to refine the draft and create a final version for the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages). Your feedback is critical to ensuring that the final research agenda is reflective of the reality of AHDs and represents areas that can benefit from collaborative research that determines and demonstrates the value of AHD partnerships.
 
Comments on any aspect of the draft research agenda are welcome, with reactions and suggestions related to any of the following questions especially appreciated:
  • Is the logic model framework for developing the research agenda appropriate? Are there other/better frameworks?
  • Are there major missing elements to the draft research agenda?
  • What are the best methods for obtaining input from the AHD Learning Community and others in the public health community for revising the draft research agenda?
  • In addition to working with the AHD Learning Community and the Council on Linkages to collect feedback from the public health community and revise the research agenda, what are other recommended steps toward producing a final research agenda?
 
The draft AHD Research Agenda and the process through which it is being developed were discussed at the March 2016 AHD Learning Community meeting. Learn more by viewing the meeting archive or downloading the presentation slides. A list of published literature related to AHD partnerships has also recently been updated to highlight current research on AHDs.
 
Feedback on the draft AHD Research Agenda will be accepted through Friday, July 15, 2016, and can be left in the Comments section below or shared by email to [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you!

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Olugbemiga Ekundayo

7/6/2016

Section: In the activities, or outputs section, Issue: The issue of public health practice and research quality comes to the fore. Rationale: Between practice and research, there has been some tension in data quality required for research and that required for practice in developing clear evidence. This has been quite prominent in disease prevention and especially health promotion practices, where the quality of data tooling and analyses (because of the quality of data collected) can improve. The question to follow will enhance public health practice in the sense that it enhances the data quality for evidence building and thus decision making. In addition, it informs a level of learning and enhances student competence and preparation for practice. Suggestion: Include a clause related to data readiness as a key interface between practice and research. Suggested Question (s): Is there readiness between academia and practice systems to develop data for enhancement of teaching, research and practice, and will the processes developed enhance public health outcomes in policies, systems, environments and behaviors? In addition to the above, Question #4 in Outputs and be modified to provide a two way effect. Thus changing Question 4 from: 4. How does the AHD enhance translating research into practice? to: 4. How does the AHD enhance translating research into practice and practice into research?

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