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Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide to Public Health Research Needs, 2006 - 2015

Quick Links and News on the Research Guide:

Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide to Public Health Research Needs, 2006-2015 (Research Guide) is helping academicians and practitioners articulate critical research needs!  CDC has distributed over 800 copies of the Research Guide since July with requests from 44 states and 7 countries.  Call us at 404-639-4621 and ask for a copy of the Research Guide or down load a PDF version from the link below.  Let us know how you are using the Research Guide in your work! Email us at ResearchGuide@cdc.gov.

Click here for a PDF version of the final Research Guide (PDF, 9.36 MB) (formerly known as the draft Health Protection Research Guide, 2006-2015)

Click here to view public comments on the draft Research Guide

Click here for a list of intervention, translation and dissemination research themes in the Research Guide.

Learn about how the Research Guide fosters collaboration on health disparities research

Overview

Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide for Public Health Research Needs, 2006-2015 is a critical resource for research areas that should be addressed during the next decade by CDC and its partners in response to current and future needs and events. The Research Guide will serve as an essential resource for defining a more focused CDC health protection research agenda of research priorities aligned with the Health Protection Goals developed by CDC. The Research Guide was developed through the workgroups, under the advisement of the Research Agenda Steering Subworkgroup, Advisory Committee to the Director, CDC and through extensive input from CDC staff and a wide range of federal, state, tribal, academic, and non-profit partners, as well as the public-at-large.

As a result of this engagement, Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide to Public Health Research Needs, 2006-2015 was produced. The development of the Research Guide is presented as responses to the following questions:

What is Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide to Public Health Research Needs, 2006-2015?

Why was the Research Guide developed?

How was the Research Guide developed?

Who was involved?

What's happening?

Who is the point of contact?

What is Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide to Public Health Research Needs, 2006-2015?
It is a critical resource for research areas that should be addressed during the next decade by CDC and its partners in response to current and future needs and events. By health protection research, we mean research that supports health promotion, prevention of injury, disability, and diseases, and preparedness activities. The Research Guide will serve as an essential resource for defining a more focused CDC health protection research agenda of research priorities aligned with the Health Protection Goals developed by CDC. In addition, portions of the Research Guide will be used to inform research initiatives that address other critical public health needs and research priorities of other agencies.

The Research Guide contains 138 research themes that are organized by seven topic specific chapters listed below.

  1. Prevent and Control Infectious Diseases
  2. Promote Preparedness to Protect Health
  3. Promote Health to Reduce Chronic Diseases and Disability
  4. Create Safer and Healthier Places
  5. Work Together to Build a Healthy World
  6. Manage and Market Health Information
  7. Promote Cross-Cutting Public Health Research

Why was the Research Guide developed?
The CDC has reorganized itself, through the Futures Initiative, to become a more effective public health response agency to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Although each National Center(NC), Coordinating Office (CO) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed its own research agenda in the past, the Research Guide will provide new opportunities to identify and build upon synergies across the NCs, COs, NIOSH, and Coordinating Centers (clusters of related NCs) to fill critical knowledge gaps to better protect the public's health. The Research Guide will also highlight, for the first time, cross-cutting research which serves as a foundation for a wide range of public health disciplines and needs.

The Research Guide will not supplant existing NC, CO and NIOSH agendas. Instead, it will serve as a general guide to these units on research areas they should address as they update their own research agendas in the future.

How was the Research Guide developed?

The CDC worked extensively with its staff, partners, stakeholders and the public to ensure that research is properly focused on key areas of public health that affect local, national, and global health. The Research Guide was developed using a variety of workgroups, holding internal meetings with CDC staff, sponsoring four Public Participation Meetings around the country, and disseminating widely the Research Guide for public comment.

The five key components in developing the Research Guide are listed below:

  1. Research Agenda Development Workgroups were formed to address the six different areas of research interests that reflect CDC’s new organizational structure of Coordinating Centers, Institute and Offices. These six Workgroups are:
    • Infectious Diseases;
    • Health Promotion;
    • Environmental and Occupational Health and Injury Prevention;
    • Health Information and Services;
    • Global Health;
    • Community Preparedness and Response.

Each Research Agenda Development Workgroup was comprised of half CDC staff and half external partners, and includes two Co-Chairs (one CDC and one external member) and at least one Deputy (CDC staff member who provides logistical support to the workgroup). The Workgroups had CDC representatives from each National Center (NC), Coordinating Office (CO) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as well as external partners that address the research interests of each NC, CO and NIOSH.

The Core Team was comprised of the Co-Chairs and Deputies of each Agenda Development Workgroup, as well as liaisons from several offices within the Office of the Director of CDC (e.g., Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, Office of Strategy and Innovation, Office of Workforce and Career Development). The Core Team developed cross-cutting research priority topics. The Core Team was also tasked with ensuring that the agency-wide Research Guide is comprehensive and cohesive across the areas addressed by the six Research Agenda Development Workgroups.

Each Workgroup and the Core Team developed components of the Research Guide that address CDC’s Health Protection Goals. The Workgroups met on a weekly basis via teleconference calls and performed several key functions:

  • Gathered research concepts and priorities from internal CDC staff;
  • Helped generate and review the list of experts and partners invited to the Public Participation Meetings held in March 2005 around the United States;
  • Generated a "Starter List" of research priority areas for consideration by members of the public, including attendees of the Public Participation Meetings;
  • Facilitated/participated in breakout groups in Public Participation Meetings;
  • Synthesized feedback from CDC staff and the Public Participation Meetings to develop priority groupings of research areas; and
  • Considered feedback and public comments for the public comment draft of the Research Guide;
  • Integrated comments from the formal public comment period to produce the final Research Guide;
  • Recommended procedures and timeframes to OPHR for updating and evaluating the Research Guide and the Research Guide development process and recommended improvements for future efforts.
  1. Research Agenda Steering Subworkgroup was an external group providing high-level advice and guidance to OPHR on efforts to build the Research Guide. The Steering Sub-Workgroup was part of the Workgroup on Goals and Research Agenda of the Advisory Committee to the Director, CDC*. The Sub-Workgroup was comprised of two Advisory Committee members and 9 senior representatives of key partner organizations. This Steering Sub-Workgroup met monthly to discuss Research Guide progress and met periodically with the Goals Sub-Workgroup to ensure that the Research Guide development and goals implementation activities were coordinated. The Steering Sub-Workgroup reported progress and presented the Research Guide to the parent Advisory Committee for approval.

*The Advisory Committee to the Director, CDC, is an external group of senior public health leaders who advise the Director on policy issues and broad strategies that enable CDC to fulfill its mission of promoting health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. The Committee recommends ways to incorporate prevention activities more fully into health care. It also provides guidance to help CDC work more effectively with its various constituents, in both the private and public sectors, to make prevention a practical reality.

  1. CDC Excellence in Science Committee (EISC)** served as an “internal” steering group by providing advice and guidance to OPHR on a wide-range of science issues including the development of the Research Guide. This Committee is comprised of senior scientists from across CDC, including Associate Directors for Science from each NC, CO and NIOSH and the Office of the Director of CDC. OPHR provided regular updates and issues for discussion by the Excellence in Science Committee.

**The CDC Excellence in Science Committee’s purpose is to foster, support, and protect an environment for the promotion of scientific integrity, quality assurance, and the rapid dissemination of scientific innovations, technology, and information with the ultimate goal of improving public health. It also participates with CIO directors and the Director and Deputy Director, CDC, and Administrator and Deputy Administrator, ATSDR, in providing scientific leadership.

  1. Public Participation was solicited in a variety of ways.
March 8, 2005 Arlington, VA – Kickoff meeting
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Hilton Crystal City Hotel at Ronald Reagan National Airport, 2399 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202
Arlington, VA Plenary Presentations (PDF-289K)
March 18, 2005 Atlanta, GA
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Dr., SW, Atlanta, GA 30310
Atlanta, GA Plenary Presentations (PDF-367K)
March 24, 2005 Seattle, WA
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Crowne Plaza Seattle, 1113 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101
Seattle, WA Plenary Presentations (PDF-381K)
March 31, 2005 Columbus, OH
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Hyatt Regency, 350 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215
Columbus, OH Plenary Presentations (PDF-365K)

“Starter List” Comments: Through April 15, 2005, nearly 400 people submitted 743 written comments on the "Starter List" of research priorities via a website. To view a report of the comments received on the Research Guide "Starter List" please click here.

The Starter List was divided into the following seven research priority focus areas (click on each focus area below to view its Starter List):

After the public comment period, the Research Guide development workgroups reconvened to consider and address comments received from the public to produce a final version of the Research Guide. One new research category, seven new research themes, and a table showing the relationship between Healthy People 2010 Leading Health Indicators and the research themes were added to the Research Guide, along with many other revisions, as a result of the public comments.

  1. Completion of the Research Guide took place after the public comment period. The Research Agenda Development Workgroups reconvened to consider and address comments received from the public to produce a final version of the Research Guide.

    Approval Process: The updated Research Guide proceeded through the CDC Excellence in Science Committee, the CDC Executive Leadership Board (comprised of Coordinating Center and Coordinating Office directors), the Advisory Committee to the Director of CDC, and then to the Director of CDC, Dr. Gerberding. During the approval process, modifications were documented. Finally, the Department of Health and Human Services approved the Research Guide for printing and distribution.

Who was involved?
The short answer is everyone: CDC staff and leadership, numerous stakeholders and partners, and the public-at-large. A more complete description of the process and Workgroups dedicated to the task of developing the Research Guide is listed above. The development of the Research Guide was coordinated by staff in the Office of Public Health Research, Office of the Chief Science Officer at CDC.

2001-2004 CDC committees develop and propose research agenda development process
Dec. 2004 Workgroups formed
Jan. 2005 Orientation of Workgroups held. Internal meetings with CDC staff started
Feb. 2005 Internal meetings with CDC staff continue. “Starter list” of research priority areas completed
Mar. 2005 Public Participation Meetings held
Mar. 9, 2005 First federal partners meeting held
Apr. 2005 CDC and initial public comments integrated into updated list of research priority areas
Nov. 2005 Public comment draft of Research Guide completed
Nov. 18, 2005 60-day formal public comment period began
Jan. 15, 2005 Public comment period ended
Spring 2006 – Fall 2006 Research Guide vetted and finalized
December 2006 Research Guide published


What's happening?
CDC and a wide variety of partners and stakeholders are using the Research Guide to address the research needs outlined within the Research Guide.  The 138 themes in the Research Guide are mapped directly to CDC’s Health Protection Goals. CDC’s Health Protection Goals include

and were created to assist CDC in prioritizing and focusing its work and investments to accelerate health impact and reduce health disparities. 

As CDC seeks to pursue more Health Protection Goals directed research, the Research Guide can assist with the identification of numerous public health research needs.  Currently, CDC is in the process of developing Goal Action Plans for each of the 14 strategic goals that fall under the Health Protection Goals.  The Goal Action Plans will provide an overview of CDC’s work, identify knowledge gaps, and recommend actions to fill them.  The Research Guide may serve as a valuable resource for identifying the research needs to fill the knowledge gaps identified in the Goal Action Plans.

CDC partners and stakeholders are also using the Research Guide as a resource for the identification of public health research needs.  For example, CDC staff have communicated with and assisted several states in using the Research Guide as a tool when developing research agendas.  In addition, CDC is collaborating with federal partners to identify pressing research needs to eliminate health disparities through the formation of the Federal Collaboration of Health Disparities Research (FCHDR). These and other efforts will continue to emerge as OPHR assists CDC and partners in using the Research Guide.

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Who is the point of contact?
The CDC Office of Public Health Research will help guide, facilitate and support the development of the Research Guide, 2006-2015.

Office of Public Health Research

Office of the Chief Science Officer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mail Stop D-72
1600 Clifton Rd. NE
Atlanta, GA 30333

Phone (404) 639-4898
Fax (404) 639-4903
ResearchGuide@cdc.gov

 

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Page last reviewed: March 31, 2008
Page last modified: September 2, 2008
Content source: Office of the Chief Science Officer (OCSO)