Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

Improving Public Health Practice

                                Improving Public Health Practise

Public health research and practice are credited with many notable achievements, including much of the 30-year gain in life expectancy in the United States over the 20th century. A large part of this increase can be attributed to provision of safe water and food, sewage treatment and disposal, tobacco use prevention and cessation, injury prevention, control of infectious diseases through immunization and other means, and other population-based interventions. Despite these successes, many additional opportunities to improve the public’s health remain. To achieve state and national objectives for better population health, more widespread adoption of evidence-based strategies has been recommended. Increased focus on evidence-based public health (EBPH) has numerous direct and indirect benefits, including access to more and higher quality information on what works, a higher likelihood of successful programs and policies being implemented, greater workforce productivity, and more efficient use of public and private resources.