Public health reports
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Public health reports · Mar 2002
Delivering HIV services to vulnerable populations: an evaluation and research agenda.
In May 2000, the HIV/AIDS Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration convened HIV experts from throughout the country to identify new and emerging areas of research needed to guide policy and programmatic decisions on HIV service delivery to vulnerable populations. This article describes the process used to develop an evaluation/research agenda, discusses key findings and recommendations of the conference, and proposes a set of principles to guide the design and conduct of future investigations. Conference participants identified nine major evaluation/research themes that span the continuum of HIV behavioral prevention services and treatment. They recommended focusing future research on questions relevant to populations experiencing rapid rates of increase in HIV infection (for example, women, people of color, and adolescents and young adults) and considering explanatory factors at multiple levels of analysis (individual, clinician, organization, service delivery system, and environment).
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Public health reports · Mar 2002
Assessing the burden of disease and injury in Los Angeles County using disability-adjusted life years.
This study was designed to assess the burden of disease and injury in the Los Angeles County population using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), a composite measure of premature mortality and disability that equates to years of healthy life lost. ⋯ The DALYs measure is a promising new tool to improve the capacity of local health departments and other health agencies to assess population health and establish an evidence base for public health decisions.
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Public health reports · Jan 2002
Assessment of validity of the national public health performance standards: the local public health performance assessment instrument.
The National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) has developed performance standards measurement instruments, based on the 10 "Essential Services of Public Health" that are being tested in several states. This article is a report on the face and content validity of the instrument designed for local public health systems. Judgments about the face validity of the standards were obtained in a survey of local public health systems that had used the instrument in a test state. ⋯ Holding local public health systems accountable for the activities of other agencies was a factor mentioned in conjunction with those standards. The NPHPSP standards have face and content validity for measuring local public health system performance. Further testing of their validity and reliability is continuing.