Contributions of academia to public health preparedness research.

Abstract

The 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) resulted in the development of several major program areas designed to respond to its legislation, “to improve the nation's public health and medical preparedness and response capabilities for emergencies, whether deliberate, accidental, or natural.”1 In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) created seven Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers (PERRCs) in an effort to support the goals of PAHPA. The program expanded to nine centers in 2009. PERRCs, located at Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited schools of public health, were tasked to improve “public health practice for preparedness and emergency response planning and policies at the local, state, federal, and tribal level.”2 CEPH is an independent agency certified by the U.S. Department of Education that accredits schools and programs of public health to assure compliance with well-defined standards. CDC established a cooperative agreement in 2008 with the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), now known as the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), to provide programmatic support to the PERRCs (“Year Four: ASPH Continuation Application,” application by CDC, June 2008). As the voice of accredited public health education, ASPPH works to transform public health by strengthening and promoting the education, research, service, and practice activities of CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health and by advocating for the investments in science that will advance population health. A commitment to advocating for evidence-based public health policies and programs lies at the core of the ASPPH mission (Unpublished document, ASPPH Strategic Framework, ASPPH, 2013). PERRCs conduct research that can be used to enhance public health preparedness (PHP) policies, planning, and response.2 Most health departments lack the resources to test new theories or concepts, but the federal funding allocated for these centers allows researchers to be more innovative in their work.3 The PERRCs have formed numerous collaborations with community partners and performed extensive outreach, including to disciplines not traditionally engaged in public health activities, such as engineering, law, and public policy. Involving stakeholders is a crucial component of translational research.4 As a result, those working with communities can feel confident that their activities and trainings are rooted in evidence.