Development of the PHAST model: generating standard public health services data and evidence for decision-making

Standardized data regarding the distribution, quality, reach, and variation in public health services provided at the community level and in wide use across states and communities do not exist. This leaves a major gap in our nation's understanding of the value of prevention activities and, in particular, the contributions of our government public health agencies charged with assuring community health promotion and protection. Public health and community leaders, therefore, are eager for accessible and comparable data regarding preventive services that can inform policy decisions about where to invest resources.

We used literature review and a practice-based approach, employing an iterative process to identify factors that facilitate data provision among public health practitioners.

This paper describes the model, systematically developed by our research team and with input from practice partners, that guides our process toward maximizing the uptake and integration of these standardized measures into state and local data collection systems.

The model we developed, using a dissemination and implementation science framework, is intended to foster greater interest in and accountability for data collection around local health department services and to facilitate spatial exploration and statistical analysis of local health department service distribution, change, and performance.

Our model is the first of its kind to thoroughly develop a means to guide research and practice in realizing the National Academy of Medicine's recommendation for developing systems to measure and track state and local public health system contributions to population health.