Investigators affiliated with the Mississippi Department of Health and Emory University led a series of activities designed to advance the field of public health systems research.

Public health systems research examines the organization, financing and delivery of public health services in communities and the impact of these services on public health. (An article describing the field is available online.)

Key Results

• Project co-director Peggy Honoré, D.H.A., M.H.A., and advisory committee member Brian W. Amy, M.D., M.H.A., M.P.H., co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (JPHMP) devoted to the subject of public health finance. (Available online.)
• About 135 participants attended the inaugural conference, "Public Health Systems Research—Creating the Evidence for Policy," on February 7–9, 2006 in Washington, D.C. (See links to conference agenda and participants.)
• Honoré convened a committee representing public and private sector organizations to identify basic skill levels or competencies for the public health financial management workforce.
• Honoré presented a statement (available online) on public health systems research before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness in March 2006.
• Organizations new to the field from both the private and federal sector are participating in public health systems research efforts.
• A joint U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) expert panel on public health systems research met on February 8, 2007 in Washington, D.C., to discuss how to advance the fields of public health systems research and public health finance.
• The project team created a Web site on public health systems research at Emory University in July 2005.

Funding

RWJF provided Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health with a $218,239 grant to support the project from May 2005 through March 2007.