Building research evidence for advancing prevention and translation: reflecting on a 20-year organizational approach of applied chronic disease preventive health research

TL;DR

This paper examines how a public health research group successfully bridged research and policy over 20 years to advance chronic disease prevention.

Contribution

The study provides a case analysis of a sustained, collaborative approach to translational public health research.

Findings

Investigator-initiated research focused on problem definition, while policy-initiated research emphasized intervention evaluation.

Collaboration with policy professionals was common, with 42.5-50% of publications including policy co-authors.

Key research areas included physical activity, obesity prevention, and tobacco control.

Abstract

Translating public health research into practice remains challenging despite ongoing focus on evidence-based approaches. This study profiles the scope of research undertaken by the Prevention Research Collaboration (PRC), a university based applied public health research organization, with funding from both traditional academic sources and from policy agencies, and examines how it contributed to a translational, evidence-building approach in chronic disease prevention.

We analyzed PRC’s research output using two complementary approaches: (i) a review of journal articles published from 2018 to 2024 where PRC researchers were lead or senior authors; and (ii) an examination of annual reports and workplans from 2013 to 2023 to identify major research programs. Research was classified according to public health evidence-building typology and whether it was investigator-initiated or policy-initiated.

Overall, investigator-initiated research was dominant amongst journal publications, and particularly showcased problem definition studies. Intervention evaluation, as identified in journal publications and internal documents, was more likely to be policy-initiated. PRC demonstrated a high degree of collaboration with policy and practice professionals (42.5% of investigator-initiated and 50% of policy-initiated publications included policy co-authors). Key research areas across chronic disease prevention included physical activity (40.4% of publications), obesity prevention (14.2%), and tobacco control (12.8%).

This case study demonstrates that a small public health research group can successfully navigate the research-policy interface over a sustained period. PRC’s continuity of management, staffing and funding arrangements, plus shared agenda and strong partnership with government, are considered to be key enabling factors for this collaborative evidence-building public health approach.

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