Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Practice-Based Research Network in Public Health

The Foundation's initiative, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Practice-Based Research Network in Public Health (PBRN), was designed to develop a practice-based research network for public health to help stakeholders understand how public health systems research can be used to improve public health performance and impact.The Wisconsin (PBRN) will expand the work of public health practitioners currently collaborating on quality improvement projects by incorporating academic research partners and developing a practice-based research agenda. The network will focus initially on a public health finance research project to determine how local health department (LHD) budgets and revenues have changed in response to the current economic environment, supplementing a quantitative data analysis with qualitative interviews of LHD administrators to further probe decision-making, impact, and other issues. Led by the Wisconsin Division of Public Health (WDPH), the network 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 LHDs 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, two centers for population health research, and a translational research institute. During the implementation of the initial project, the network will refine the long-term research agenda, driven by local public health practitioners who identified development and expansion of their own research capacity as a key need.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $90,000.00

Awarded on: 10/13/2009

Time frame: 12/1/2009 - 11/30/2011

Grant Number: 67014