Mapping the Multidisciplinary Field of Public Health Services and Systems Research

Context Public health services and systems research (PHSSR) is the field of study charged with evaluating the public health system. PHSSR currently lacks a clear identity integrating the many theories, approaches, and disciplines contributing to the field. Evidence acquisition Experts in PHSSR were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of preventive medicine 2011-07, Vol.41 (1), p.105-111
Main Authors: Harris, Jenine K., PhD, Beatty, Kate E., MPH, Lecy, Jesse D., PhD, Cyr, Julianne M., BA, Shapiro, Robert M., MALS
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic disciplines
Citations
Cluster Analysis
Cooperative Behavior
Data Collection - methods
Health
Health Care Services
Health Services Research - organization & administration
Humans
Identity
Internal Medicine
Intervention
Law
Medical research
Methodology (Data Collection)
Partnerships
Performance standards
Public Health
Public Health Administration - methods
Public Health Practice
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
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Summary:Context Public health services and systems research (PHSSR) is the field of study charged with evaluating the public health system. PHSSR currently lacks a clear identity integrating the many theories, approaches, and disciplines contributing to the field. Evidence acquisition Experts in PHSSR were consulted to identify 11 key published PHSSR studies. With these articles as a starting point, a newly developed citation data collection system was used to collect a sample of 2986 documents connected to the key articles through citation linkages. Data were collected in October 2009. Evidence synthesis Citation network methods and latent position cluster modeling were used to examine the network of documents. A subset of 108 documents comprising the backbone of the network was identified through main-path analysis. Four unique clusters were identified within the main path. The core cluster consisted of older articles focused on local health department activities, partnerships, and effectiveness. The three non-core clusters focused on public health law, behavioral interventions, and national performance standards. Although all non-core clusters cited the core, there was little crosstalk among the non-core clusters, a pattern consistent with multidisciplinary fields. Conclusions PHSSR appears to be a multidisciplinary field with research happening in silos across different research areas. Developing transdisciplinary research connections across PHSSR is necessary to meet national PHSSR goals.
ISSN:0749-3797
1873-2607
DOI:10.1016/j.amepre.2011.03.015