Increasing the Availability and Promoting the Use of the National Library of Medicine's Datasets for Public Health Systems Research

The nation has seen an awakening to the important role public health plays in improving the nation's health status and in assuring that the public is protected from potential health problems. The release of two Institute of Medicine reports on the future of public health has prompted a major examination of and investment in the nation's public health system infrastructure. Investments in research and evaluation are essential elements toward meeting the goal of improving public health systems. Research on the organization, financing, and performance of public health departments can help us identify optimal structures, processes, and resources that will enable public health agencies to deliver highly effective public health services to communities. As outlined in the goals ofthe National Public Health Performance Standards Program, it is crucial that public health practitioners encourage the further development of the evidence base of public health systems and services research (PHSR). It is crucial that researchers have access to updated information on currently available PHSR datasets, as well as information on PHSR research that is in progress. The PHSR subset of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Health Services and Sciences Research Resources (HSRR) and the Health Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRProj) databases currently serve these needs. This proposal is designed to facilitate the continued updating of those resources and to expand the number of public health professionals that are aware of and use those databases.