A typology of useful evidence: approaches to increase the practical value of intervention research.

Background: Too often, studies of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) in preventive, community, and health care are not sufficiently useful to end users (typically practitioners, patients, policymakers, or other researchers). The ways in which intervention studies are conventionally conducted and reported mean that there is often a shortage of information when an EBI is used in practice. The paper aims to invite the research community to consider ways to optimize not only the trustworthiness but also the research's usefulness in intervention studies.

Building a National Culture of Health: Background, Action Framework, Measures, and Next Steps.

Because health is a function of more than medical care, solutions to U.S. health problems must encompass more than reforms to health care systems.

Generalizing about Public Health Interventions: A Mixed-Methods Approach to External Validity.

Public health researchers and practitioners are calling for greater focus on external validity, the ability to generalize findings of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) beyond the limited number of studies testing effectiveness. For public health, the goal is applicability: to translate, disseminate, and implement EBIs for an impact on population health. This article is a review of methods and how they might be combined to better assess external validity.

Strengthening Integration Of Health Services And Systems.

New care delivery models that hold providers more accountable for coordinated, high-quality care and the overall health of their patients have appeared in the US health care system, spurred by recent legislation such as the Affordable Care Act. These models support the integration of health care systems, but maximizing health and well-being for all individuals will require a broader conceptualization of health and more explicit connections between diverse partners. Integration of health services and systems constitutes the fourth Action Area in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Action Framework, which is the subject of this article.