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Bernard C.K. Choi, PhD, MSc, John Frank, MD, MSc, Jennifer S. Mindell, MB BS, PhD, FFPH, Anna Orlova, PhD, Vivian Lin, MPH, DrPH, Alain D.M.G. Vaillancourt, MLS, Pekka Puska, MD, PhD, MPolSc, Tikki Pang, PhD, FRCPath, Harvey A. Skinner, PhD, CPsych, Marsha Marsh, MPH, Ali H. Mokdad, PhD, Shun-Zhang Yu, MD, M. Cristina Lindner, MD, Gregory Sherman, PhD, MSc, Sandhi M. Barreto, MD, PhD, Lawrence W. Green, DrPH, FAAHB, Lawrence W. Svenson, BSc, DipPsych, Peter Sainsbury, MB BS, MHP, PhD, Yongping Yan, MD, PhD, Zuo-Feng Zhang, MD, PhD, Juan C. Zevallos, MD, Suzanne C. Ho, MPH, PhD and Ligia M. de Salazar, MPH, PhD

Bernard C. K. Choi is with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario; and the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa. John Frank is with the Institute of Population and Public Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Toronto; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto; and Institute for Work and Health, Toronto. Jennifer S. Mindell is with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, London, England. Anna Orlova is with the Division of Health Sciences Informatics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Public Health Data Standards Consortium; and the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md. Vivian Lin is with the School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia. Alain D. M. G. Vaillancourt is with the Office of Public Health Practice, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa. Pekka Puska is with the National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. Tikki Pang is with Research Policy and Cooperation, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Harvey A. Skinner is with the Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto. Marsha Marsh is with the Environmental Science Center, US Environmental Protection Agency, Fort Meade, Md. Ali H. Mokdad is with the Behavioral Surveillance Branch, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. Shun-Zhang Yu is with the School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; and the Shanghai Preventive Medicine Association, Shanghai. M. Cristina Lindner is with the Hospital de Clínicas, Universidad de la República del Uruguay, Montevideo. Gregory Sherman is with the Office of Public Health Practice, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa. Sandhi M. Barreto is with the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Lawrence W. Green is with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco. Lawrence W. Svenson is with the Public Health Surveillance and Environmental Health Branch, Alberta Ministry of Health and Wellness, Calgary; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Calgary; and the Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary. Peter Sainsbury is with Population Health, Sydney South West Area Health Service, Camperdown, Australia; and the School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Yongping Yan is with the Department of Epidemiology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xian, China. Zuo-Feng Zhang is with the Department of Epidemiology, University of California School of Public Health, Los Angeles. Juan C. Zevallos is with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. Suzanne C. Ho is with the Department of Community and Family Medicine, and the School of Public Health, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Ligia M. de Salazar is with the Public Health Evaluation Centre, University of Valle, Cali, Colombia.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Bernard C. K. Choi, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Government of Canada, AL#6701A, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1B4, Canada (e-mail: Bernard_ Choi{at}phac-aspc.gc.ca).

ABSTRACT

In public health, the generation, management, and transfer of knowledge all need major improvement. Problems in generating knowledge include an imbalance in research funding, publication bias, unnecessary studies, adherence to fashion, and undue interest in novel and immediate issues.

Impaired generation of knowledge, combined with a dated and inadequate process for managing knowledge and an inefficient system for transferring knowledge, mean a distorted body of evidence available for decisionmaking in public health. This article hopes to stimulate discussion by proposing a Global Registry of Anticipated Public Health Studies.

This prospective, comprehensive system for tracking research in public health could help enhance collaboration and improve efficiency. Practical problems must be discussed before such a vision can be further developed.