Public Health System Research in Public Health Emergency Preparedness in the United States (2009—2015): Actionable Knowledge Base.
Background. In 2008, the Institute of Medicine released a letter report identifying 4 research priority areas for public health in public health system research: (1) enhancing the usefulness of , (2) improving timely communications, (3) creating and maintaining sustainable systems, and (4) generating effectiveness criteria and metrics. Objectives. To (1) identify and characterize public health system research in public health emergency preparedness produced in the United States from 2009 to 2015, (2) synthesize research findings and assess the level of confidence in these findings, and (3) describe the evolution of knowledge production in public health emergency preparedness system research. Search Methods and Selection Criteria. We reviewed and included the titles and abstracts of 1584 articles derived from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and gray literature databases that focused on the organizational or financial aspects of public health emergency preparedness activities and were grounded on empirical studies. Data Collection and Analysis. We included 156 articles. We appraised the quality of the studies according to the study design.We identified themes during article analysis and summarized overall findings by theme. We determined level of confidence in the findings with the GRADE-CERQual . Main Results. Thirty-one studies provided evidence on how to enhance the usefulness of . Results demonstrated the utility of drills and exercises to enhance decision-making capabilities and coordination across organizations, the benefit of cross-sector partnerships for successfully implementing training activities, and the value of integrating methods to support training improvement efforts. Thirty-six studies provided evidence on how to improve timely communications. Results supported the use of communication strategies that address differences in access to information, knowledge, attitudes, and practices across segments of the population as well as evidence on specific communication barriers experienced by public health and health care personnel. Forty-eight studies provided evidence on how to create and sustain preparedness systems. Results included how to build social capital across organizations and citizens and how to develop sustainable and useful planning efforts that maintain flexibility and rely on available medical data. Twenty-six studies provided evidence on the usefulness of efforts, such as community and organizational needs assessments, and new methods to learn from the to critical incidents. Conclusions: In the United States, the field of public health emergency preparedness system research has been supported by the US Centers for Disease Control and since the release of the 2008 Institute of Medicine letter report. The first definition of public health emergency preparedness appeared in 2007, and before 2008 there was a lack of research and empirical evidence across all 4 research areas identified by the Institute of Medicine. This field can be considered relatively new compared with other research areas in public health; for example, tobacco control research can rely on more than 70 years of knowledge production. However, this review demonstrates that, during the past 7 years, public health emergency preparedness system research has evolved from generic inquiry to the analysis of specific interventions with more empirical studies. Public Health Implications: The results of this review provide an evidence base for public health practitioners responsible for enhancing key components of preparedness and response such as communication, training, and planning efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]/nCopyright of American Journal of Public Health is the property of American Public Health Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
The authors identified themes during article analysis and summarized overall findings by theme. The authors determined level of confidence in the findings with the GRADE-CERQual .
Literature search and review of the abstract or the full text.
For the articles to be eligible for a full-text review, following criteria was used:The article had to focus on the organizational or financial aspects of public health activities delivered by a key public health system sector cited in the IOM letter reportThe findings had to be grounded on an empirical study
Systematic Literature Review based on the prisma statement
The authors reviewed and included the titles and abstracts of 1584 articles derived from MEDLINE, EMBASE and gray literature databases that focused on the organizational or financial aspects of public health activities and were grounded on empirical studies. The authors included 156 articles and appraised the quality of the studies according to the study design.
Identify and characterize public health system research in public health produced in the US from 2009 to 2015Synthesize research findings and assess the level of confidence in these findingsDescribe the evolution of knowledge production in public health preparedness system research
The results of this review provide an evidence base for public health practitioners responsible for enhancing key components of and such as communication, and planning effortsResearch gaps remain, in particular in the area of information sharing, communication to the public, and the development of criteria and metricsThe authors acknowledge that the literature search strategy, adopted from a previous study to allow comparisons over time, may lack specificity in this field.This synthesis does not include articles related to research areas that were not considered a priority by the 2008 IOM letter report, limiting the findings to this niche of research.The authors recognize that results from systematic reviews can direct and influence the development of future research agendas in a meaningful way only when well integrated with input from practitioners on what knowledge production is most needed to address practice questions. As well as on the best ways to disseminate existing knowledge that does not reach practitioners. Thus, this review should be considered only a first step in this direction.Future steps will consist in combining these results with feedback from practitioners engaged in preparedness efforts.
31 studies provided evidence on how to enhance the usefulness of . Results demonstrated the utility of drills and exercises to enhance decision-making capabilities and coordination across organizations, the benefit of cross-sector partnerships for successfully implementing activities, and the value of integrating methods to support training improvement efforts. 36 studies provided evidence on how to improve timely communications. Results supported the use of communication strategies that address differences in access to information, knowledge, attitudes, and practices across segments of the population as well as evidence on specific communication barriers experienced by public health and health care personnel.48 studies provided evidence on how to create and sustain systems. Results included how to build social capital across organizations and citizens and how to develop sustainable and useful planning efforts that maintain flexibility and rely on available medical data.26 studies provided evidence on the usefulness of efforts, such as community and organizational needs assessments, and new methods to learn from the to critical incidents.This study demonstrates that, during the past 7 years, public health preparedness system research has evolved from generic inquiry to the analysis of specific interventions with more empirical studies
Systematic literature review which analyzes knowledge production in public health system research in the timeframe 2009-2015.
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