Insights Into Collaborative Networks Of Nonprofit, Private, And Public Organizations That Address Complex Health Issues.

Community networks that include nonprofit, public, and private organizations have formed around many health issues, such as chronic disease management and healthy living and eating. Despite the increases in the numbers of and funding for cross-sector networks, and the growing literature about them, there are limited data and methods that can be used to assess their effectiveness and analyze their designs. We addressed this gap in knowledge by analyzing the characteristics of 260 cross-sector community health networks that collectively consisted of 7,816 organizations during the period 2008-15.

Hospital Contributions to the Delivery of Public Health Activities in US Metropolitan Areas: National and Longitudinal Trends.

Objectives: We investigated changes in hospital participation in local public health systems and the delivery of public health activities over time and assessed the relationship between hospital participation and the scope of activities available in local public health systems.

Methods: We used longitudinal observations from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems to examine how hospital contributions to the delivery of core public health activities varied in 1998, 2006, and 2012. We then used multivariate regression to assess the relationship between the level of hospital contributions and the overall availability of public health activities in the system.

Economic shocks and public health protections in US metropolitan areas.

Objectives: We examined public health system responses to economic shocks using longitudinal observations of public health activities implemented in US metropolitan areas from 1998 to 2012.

Methods: The National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems collected data on the implementation of 20 core public health activities in a nationally representative cohort of 280 metropolitan areas in 1998, 2006, and 2012. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate how local economic shocks relate to the scope of activities implemented in communities, the mix of organizations performing them, and perceptions of the effectiveness of activities.

Public health research implementation and translation: evidence from practice-based research networks.

Background: Research on how best to deliver efficacious public health strategies in heterogeneous community and organizational contexts remains limited. Such studies require the active engagement of public health practice settings in the design, implementation, and translation of research. Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) provide mechanisms for research engagement, but until now they have not been tested in public health settings.

Expanding delivery system research in public health settings: lessons from practice-based research networks.

Background: Delivery system research to identify how best to organize, finance, and implement health improvement strategies has focused heavily on clinical practice settings, with relatively little attention paid to public health settings-where research is made more difficult by wide heterogeneity in settings and limited sources of existing data and measures. This study examines the approaches used by public health practice-based research networks (PBRNs) to expand delivery system research and evidence-based practice in public health settings.

Methods: Practice-based research networks employ quasi-experimental research designs, natural experiments, and mixed-method analytic techniques to evaluate how community partnerships, economic shocks, and policy changes impact delivery processes in public health settings.