Round One Selected Sites

The Colorado Public Health Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) will foster research on public health organization, decision-making and practice within the diverse rural and urban settings of Colorado.  The network will be organized by the Public Health Alliance of Colorado, a collaborative of ten public health professional associations within the state. Participating practice agencies will include local health departments represented by the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials, along with the state health agency. Research partners will include faculty from the University of Colorado School of Public Health and School of Medicine, along with the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center. The network will focus initially on studying the implementation and impact of a natural experiment involving recently passed state legislation that modernizes state public health laws and redistributes local public health agency responsibilities and powers.  Other research interests involve the use of local health and environmental data for public health planning and decision-making. 

Network Director:   
Lee Thielen 
Colorado Assn. of Local Public Health Officers

The Kentucky Public Health Research Network (K-PHReN) will stimulate and support new research focusing on public health partnerships, strategies to reduce health disparities, and the roles of leadership in public health practice improvement.  Administered by the Kentucky Public Health Association, the network will include the Kentucky Department of Health, 17 local public health jurisdictions and their community partners, a state primary care research network, the Kentucky Health Department Association, and research partners at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. An initial research project will provide a comparative analysis of public health system performance among local public health jurisdictions in Kentucky contrasted with their counterparts in other states. Future project interests include the implementation and impact of partnerships between public health and primary care providers in Kentucky, collaborative practices to reduce health disparities, and the impact of leadership development initiatives on public health practice.

Co-Principal Investigators:
Angela Dearinger, M.D., M.P.H.  
University of Kentucky College of Public Health and College of Medicine

Sarah T. Wilding, RN, M.P.A.  
Kentucky Department of Public Health

  
The Massachusetts Public Health Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) will develop initial research capacity for studying the effects of regionalization on public health service delivery and outcomes.  This network will be organized by the practice arm of the Boston University School of Public Health and will take advantage of a natural experiment created by the state’s effort to develop a regionalized organizational structure from its current 351 separate public health jurisdictions.  Network participants will include the state Department of Public Health, eight local health departments (LHDs) participating in a state regionalization work group, and representatives from key public health associations within the state.  Research partners will include faculty at the Boston University School of Public Health and the nonprofit Institute for Community Health. Initial research projects will elucidate key factors that influence the implementation and impact of regionalized public health delivery models, and will compare the costs and consequences alternative approaches to regionalization.

Network Co-Directors: 
Harold Cox, M.S.S.W.   
Boston University

Justeen Hyde, Ph.D.  
Institute for Community Health

  
The North Carolina Public Health Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) is designed to stimulate and support new research based on the work of nine local health departments of the Central North Carolina Partnership for Public Health, part of a state “incubator” initiative that fosters regional collaboration and innovation in public health practice.  The network will allow these agencies and their research partners to formally study the implementation and impact of practice innovations designed through the incubator initiative.  The network will be administered through the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the UNC School of Public Health, and will include collaboration with the North Carolina Division of Public Health and with research partners at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Utilizing a baseline operational model and decision-making protocol developed by several of the local health department partners, the network will pursue an initial research focus on public health infrastructure improvement via workforce development. Examples of specific research projects being considered are: (1) testing strategies for enhancing recruitment and retention of a diverse and well-trained public health workforce; (2) determining optimal staffing ratios for effective delivery of essential public health services; (3) investigating how differences in infrastructure across rural and urban areas affect provision of essential public health services; and (4) exploring how public health workforce diversity and competence impact service utilization at local health departments. 

Project Director and Principal Investigator: 
Edward Baker, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.C.
North Carolina Institute for Public Health

Co-PI:
Rosemary Summers, Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
Orange County Health Department

The Washington Public Health Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) is designed to support research that examines variations in public health practice across local areas and opportunities for practice improvement through studies of comparative effectiveness.  Led by the Public Health-Seattle & King County local health department, the research network will include the local health departments serving the nine largest jurisdictions within the state, along with the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials, and research partners at University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine and School of Nursing. The network will focus on cross-jurisdictional public health practice issues relevant to front-line public health service delivery. An initial research project will compare local health departments’ approaches to communicable disease reporting. Long-term research interests include projects that focus on public health financing, quality improvement processes, health disparities, workforce competency, and community health assessment.

Project Director:
David Fleming, M.D. 
Public Health Seattle & King County

 

Round Two Selected PBRN Sites

The Wisconsin Practice Based Research Network (PBRN), led by the Wisconsin Division of Public Health (WDPH), brings together the state’s independent public health institute, the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards, the Wisconsin Public Health Association, and an initial group of 12 local health departments that vary in size, service mix, and geographic location. Academic partners include the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing and School of Medicine and Public Health. The network will focus initially on research examining how public health budgets and revenues have changed in response to the economic downturn, and the effects of these changes on service delivery.

Co-Principal Investigators:
Patricia Guhlerman, M.S.
Wisconsin Department of Health

Susan Zahner, Dr. P.H., RN
University of Wisconsin

The Ohio Practice Based Research Network (PBRN)  includes a diverse group of local health departments in nine counties that are affiliated with the state’s academic public health programs, along with the Ohio Department of Health and Case Western Reserve University’s public health program and Prevention Research Center. The network’s initial research will evaluate the use of public health informatics methodologies within local health departments and evaluate the effects of these methodologies on community health assessment, surveillance, and service delivery activities conducted by local health departments.

Co-Principal Investigators:
Matthew Stefanak, M.P.H.
Mahoning County Department of Health

Scott Frank, M.D., M.S.
Case Western Reserve University

The Florida Practice Based Research Network (PBRN), led by Duval County Health Department, includes the Florida Association of County Health Officers, two urban and four rural local health departments, the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Public Health Institute, and a consortium of university partners at Florida State University, University of Florida, and the University of South Florida. The network’s first research project will examine the effects of public health funding streams within the state on local health department capacities and services.

Co-Principal Investigators:
Bill Livingood, Ph.D.
Nancy Winterbauer, Ph.D.
Duval County Health Department

The Minnesota Practice Based Research Network (PBRN), organized by the Minnesota Department of Health, includes partners at the Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, the State Community Health Services Advisory Committee, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and local health departments across the state. An initial research project will examine variation in the organizational structures and operational environments of local public health agencies, and the effects of this variation on the quality of public health services.

Co-Principal Investigators:
Debra Burns, M.A.
Kimberly Gearin, Ph.D.
Minnesota Department of Health

The Nebraska Practice Based Research Network (PBRN) led by the Nebraska Division of Public Health will organize a research network that encompasses Nebraska’s recently-regionalized public health agencies along with four urban and rural single-county health departments, the University of Nebraska, Creighton University, and several other public health organizations. The network’s initial studies will examine the implementation and impact of Nebraska’s newly established regional public health service model, with an early focus on organizational design and workforce issues.

Co-Principal Investigators:
David Palm, Ph.D.
Nebraska Division of Public Health

Li Wu Chen, Ph.D.
University of Nebraska Medical Center

The Connecticut Practice Based Research Network (PBRN), led by the Connecticut Association of Directors of Health, includes the Connecticut Department of Health, local health departments across the state, the Hispanic Health Council, and the academic public health programs of the University of Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State University, and Yale University. Initial research projects will focus on organizational and governance issues within local public health systems and their effects on the scope and cost of state-mandated public health services.

Co-Principal Investigators:
Jennifer Kertanis, M.P.H.
Connecticut Association of Directors of Health

Elaine O’Keefe, M.S.P.H.
Yale University

The New York Practice Based Research Network (PBRN), led by New York State Department of Health will organize a network that includes the local health department members of the New York State Association of County Health Officials along with the University at Albany School of Public Health, the Northeast Public Health Leadership Institute, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the New York-New Jersey Public Health Training Center. An initial research project will use both quantitative and qualitative approaches to characterize impediments to evidence-based decision making in local health departments and to identify factors that promote and support its use.

Co-Principal Investigators:
Sylvia Pirani, M.P.H., M.S.
New York Department of Health

Sandra McGinnis, Ph.D.
University of Albany