POLARIS
Find Information by Health Topic
POLARIS puts CDC’s policy-relevant research, data, and resources about specific health topics at your fingertips. Select a health topic below.
Policy Achievements in Public Health
Policy is an important tool that can make an impact at the population level. Policy has been a major factor in many of the great public health achievements from the 20th and 21st centuries. Some examples are childhood vaccination, safer and healthier foods, improved workplace safety, and increased motor vehicle safety.
CDC has a wide variety of research, data, and information that can inform evidence-based policy. POLARIS was developed by CDC to make it easier to find information on different health topics and to provide resources and training on CDC’s policy process.
See CDC’s definition of policy here.
Featured Resources
Trainings
These online courses were developed to increase understanding of major policy-related concepts and methods. Visit the trainings to learn more about policy analysis, policy evaluation, and economic evaluation in public health.
Writing Briefs
These resources outline four types of briefing documents that can be used to clearly communicate public health evidence. Start here to learn more about how to develop briefs that inform decision makers and stakeholders of the best available evidence on a public health problem, policy, method, or approach.
Rural Health
Visit this health topic page to learn more about the complex challenges that rural communities face. You can also read a collection of policy briefs that provide examples of policy options that can address public health issues in rural America.
Team Based Care Interactive Economic Model
This economic model projects the long-term health and cost impacts of providing team-based care for patients with uncontrolled high blood pressure. Visit the page to learn more about the model and its outputs.
HI-5 (Health Impact in 5 Years)
The Health Impact in 5 Years (HI-5) initiative highlights non-clinical, community-wide approaches that have evidence reporting 1) positive health impacts, 2) results within five years, and 3) cost effectiveness and/or cost savings over the lifetime of the population or earlier.
CDC’s Policy Analytic Frameworkpdf icon
This document provides a guide for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing policies that can improve health. The policy analytical framework expands on CDC’s Policy Process to improve the analytic basis for identifying and prioritizing policies and improve the strategic approach to identify and inform the adoption of policy solutions.
Using Evaluation to Inform CDC’s Policy Processpdf icon
This document provides examples of how to use evaluation to inform each of the specific domains of CDC’s Policy Process to improve understanding of evaluation as it applies to Policy Process and the importance of using evaluation findings to inform the evidence base.