Bernard C.K. Choi ^1*, John Frank ², Jennifer S. Mindell ³, Anna Orlova ⁴, Vivian Lin ⁵, Alain D.M.G. Vaillancourt ¹, Pekka Puska ⁶, Tikki Pang ⁷, Harvey A. Skinner ⁸, Marsha Marsh ⁹, Ali H. Mokdad ¹⁰, Shun-Zhang Yu ¹¹, M. Cristina Lindner ¹², Gregory Sherman ¹, Sandhi M. Barreto ¹³, Lawrence Green ¹⁴, Lawrence W. Svenson ¹⁵, Peter Sainsbury ¹⁶, Yongping Yan ¹⁷, Zuo-Feng Zhang ¹⁸, Juan C. Zevallos ¹⁰, Suzanne C. Ho ¹⁹, Ligia M. de Salazar ²⁰

¹ Public Health Agency of Canada
² University of Toronto
³ University College London
⁴ Johns Hopkins University
⁵ La Trobe University
⁶ KTL Finland
⁷ WHO
⁸ York University
⁹ US EPA
¹⁰ US CDC
¹¹ Fudan University
¹² Universidad de la Republica
¹³ Federal University of Minas Gerais
¹⁴ UC Berkeley
¹⁵ Alberta Ministry of Health and Wellness
¹⁶ Sydney South West Area Health Service
¹⁷ Institute of Preclinical Medicine of Xi'an
¹⁸ UCLA
¹⁹ Chinese University of Hong Kong
²⁰ University of Valle

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. 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.

Key Words: Community Health, Epidemiology, Ethics, Global Health, Health Promotion, Public Health Practice