College of Public Health Launches National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 2, 2011) − The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded a $3.2 million, three-year grant to the University of Kentucky College of Public Health to launch the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR), a growing field designed to arm public health officials and policymakers with the data they need to make well-informed decisions about how health departments should be financed, staffed and structured.
 

This research has become increasingly important as state and local health departments across the country face difficult choices due to budget cuts and reductions in staff, programs and services.
 

“This is a difficult time for government and public health, particularly in light of the loss of more than 29,000 jobs in local health departments,” said Dr. Debra Joy Perez, interim assistant vice president for research and evaluation at RWJF. “It’s critical that we focus on research-based practice that helps make the case for the value of public health.”
 

The goal of the new center is to grow this field of research by coordinating current PHSSR investments, supporting real-world applications, and strengthening the capacity of researchers and practitioners. Another key goal is to determine the future direction of the field’s research initiatives, and translate that research into practice. The National Coordinating Center also will work to increase the visibility of the work and attract other funders to the field.

As a part of its efforts to further enhance the field, the NCC is working closely with RWJF and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a new PHSSR research agenda.

“In this era of health care reform and tight government budgets, now is the ideal time to take a hard look at how valuable public health dollars are being spent and how we can best spend those dollars in the future to ensure the greatest, most positive impact on the population,” said Dr. F. Douglas Scutchfield, director of the new center and the Peter B. Bosomworth Professor of Health Services Research and Policy at UK.
 

The official launch of the National Coordinating Center was announced in April at the Keeneland Conference, a gathering in Lexington, Ky., of PHSSR researchers and practitioners. The conference, which is in its fourth year, is coordinated by the Resource Center for PHSSR at the UK College of Public Health.
 

To guide its work, the National Coordinating Center has formed a National Advisory Committee that is focusing on the pillars that undergird the NCC: Building the Evidence, which will focus on natural experiments and evaluative research; Research Capacity, which will address methodological support, teaching assistant and training opportunities;  Practice Application/Translation, which will look at opportunities for practitioner training and means of translating promising findings; and Expanding Funding, which will focus on ways to engage current and potential funders.
 

For more information, visit www.publichealthsystems.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ann Blackford (859)257-1754 ext. 230 or ann.blackford@uky.edu