Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The activities of the CDC focus on several major priorities: provide core public health functions; respond to urgent health threats; monitor the nation's health using sound scientific methods; build the nation's health infrastructure to insure our national security against bioterrorist threats; promote women's health; and provide leadership in the implementation of nationwide prevention strategies to encourage responsible behavior and adoption of lifestyles that are conducive to good health.

A continuing concern is the issue of inadequate research focusing on the infrastructure of public health: public health services research. While much attention has focused on research about the sickness care system, and on improving the public health system's ability to respond to a terrorist attack, insufficient resources have been allocated for a comparable focus on research to improve the delivery of public health services. Of specific concern are:

• How can the public health infrastructure be improved and made more effective?
  
• How do we target critical public health activities to reach individuals and communities that typically encounter barriers in accessing the health system?
  
• How cost-effective are public health and prevention programs?
  
• How will new advances in understanding disease be applied in public health?

The CDC also conducts a modestly funded ($19 million) extramural prevention research project—the only extramural health services research program at the CDC. CDC developed this program to move knowledge about effective strategies for preventing disease and disability from research to implementation in diverse community practices and programs. The program uses a model of community-based participatory prevention research, and has supported more than 50 projects based in states and localities throughout the country. Cutting this program will eliminate the second round of projects designed and initiated by community-based research collaborations. The Coalition urges restoration of the $17 million so that CDC can conduct the second round of projects and collaborate with others to accelerate the dissemination of research results to professionals and communities who can put the results into practice.

• Send an e-mail or letter to the CDC