November 2005, Vol 95, No. 11 | American Journal of Public Health 1882
© 2005 American Public Health Association
Strengthening the Evidence Base for Public Health
Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief and
Michael R. Greenberg, PhD, Associate Editor
The theme of the American Public Health Association’s 133rd Annual Meeting and Exposition, to be held December 10–14, 2005, in Philadelphia, Pa, is "Evidence-Based Policy and Practice." While this is not a theme that is easily imaged on our cover or that lends itself to advocacy in the same way that other public health topics might, it cuts to the core of our mission at the Journal. Over the past several years, especially, much emphasis has been placed on broadening the sorts of evidence that appear regularly in the Journal. We have sought to ensure that qualitative as well as quantitative findings, practice as well as research reports, and images as well as text are used to advance public health priorities.
We are at a point where we believe it is imperative to actively seek, meaningfully review, and expeditiously publish the evidence that can best inform public health policy and practice. This moves us beyond the traditional role of scientific editors who review submitted papers from (largely) academic colleagues and challenges us to engage directly with policymakers and public health practitioners.
Even though our initial efforts were tentative, we are beginning to see results. At community coalition meetings, our health department colleagues regularly comment on the recent evidence appearing in the Journal and describe how they are planning to use this evidence to inform ongoing programs on topics such as asthma and diabetes. When we visit various public health offices or attend conferences, we are no longer startled to see past and present covers of the Journal prominently displayed. And public health leaders and agencies who want to advance particular topics that merit focused scientific attention often call upon us to work with them in partnership on theme issues, as was the case with the present issue, which was sponsored in part by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One of us (M.R.G.) proposed an idea for strengthening the evidence base for public health at our spring 2005 editors’ meeting; the rest of the editorial team roundly endorsed this idea. As a result, we are inaugurating 2 awards to be presented at the Journal’s annual outreach session, this year called "Practice—How to Present the Evidence" (session 3079.0).
The first award is presented to the reviewer who has done the most to strengthen papers prior to publication in the service of public health. This year we recognize Dona Schneider for being someone on whom we can rely to review papers on several related topics that others have declined to review, and to provide both strong overall assessments and detailed, line-by-line remarks.
The second award is presented to the author or authors of a paper that has advanced a given public health policy or program by persuading readers to think differently about a topic. This year we recognize David Michaels for his editorial "Scientific Evidence and Public Policy" in the supplement of the same title that he guest-edited in July 2005. He moved us out of the strictly scientific realm of public health and created quite a stir among lawyers and public officials. At the time this column was finalized, the world was in shock and grief over the destruction in New Orleans and the horrific death toll that ensued. We dedicate this issue to the disabled, who were disproportionately affected by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, and to collectively building a safer world for all of us.
Copyright © 2005 by the American Public Health Association
