Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR) is establishing an evidence base to provide public health officials and policy-makers with the data they need to make well-informed decisions about how health departments should be financed, staffed and structured. PHSSR findings can help public health departments use their limited resources wisely, and can inform critical real-world changes in public health practice that will affect how well prepared communities are to respond to bioterrorism, pandemic flu and current chronic disease epidemics.
In 2009, RWJF supported AcademyHealth in conducting a Public Health Systems Research (PHSR) Data and Methods Needs Assessment which included a review of PHSSR literature, an online survey of the AcademyHealth PHSR Interest Group and semi-structured interviews with PHSSR experts.
The literature review examined commentary, research articles, practice articles and books with a strong methodological focus. This literature has been curated and presented here under the four focus areas of PHSR's current agenda-setting work: Organization and Structure; Finance; Workforce; and Technology, Data and Methods.
In Organization and Structure, PHSSR literature focuses on characteristics and key elements of public health systems; public health systems performance management and outcomes.