This article provides background about the development and user-testing of the Online Health Program Planner and describes how it can be used as part of a regular planning cycle to help plan programs, access the best available evidence and support partnership and collaboration among community groups.

Reproduced with permission of the Canadian Public Health Association

(Ciliska D, Clark K, Hershfield L, Jetha N, Mackintosh J, Finkle D. Using an Online Health Program Planner: What’s in it for you? Ottawa, ON: Canadian Public Health Association, 2009; 8 pp.)

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Randomized controlled trials provide rigorous results for effectiveness questions, yet may not be the best or even a possible study design for all questions. This resource discusses the implications of considering the best available evidence, including evidence from studies without control groups.

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Fact Sheet

What is lost when stages of the traditional systematic review process are shortened? This fact sheet discusses various methods used to create rapid reviews, outlines the strengths and limitations of rapid reviews, and makes recommendations for their future application.

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The Registry is a searchable online collection of quality assessed, evidence-informed methods (processes) and tools (instruments) for knowledge translation in public health.

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The purpose of this document is to identify priorities for public health research in Canada.

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An online database of current academic articles designed especially for public health decision-makers and managers who are too busy to sift through all the available evidence. Every article from over 140 medical and allied health academic journals is critically appraised. Only those articles deemed by clinicians to be methodologically sound, relevant and newsworthy are posted. Articles are updated weekly and a searchable archive is kept on the NCCMT website. The service comes to NCCMT via the McMaster Health Knowledge Refinery.

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A practical, online tool to help you make program planning decisions and policy choices based on a sound process using the best available evidence. This tool takes advantage of recent advances in information technology and greater access to multiple sources of information online to help practitioners plan more effectively. Development of the tool was executed by The Health Communication Unit (THCU), supported by the NCCMT, and jointly promoted by THCU, NCCMT and the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Canadian Best Practices Initiative.

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This paper explores the potential of networks to further the goals of the NCCPH program, in particular, the promotion of evidence-informed decision-making and knowledge management. The paper includes extensive links to Canadian and international networking resources.

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Evidence-informed public health involves integrating the best available research evidence into the decision-making process. Additional factors – community health issues and local context; community and political preferences and actions; and public health resources – create the environment in which that research evidence is interpreted and applied.

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This paper examines synthesis methods, critical appraisal tools and studies that deal with appraising and synthesizing quantitative studies without control groups. This paper also outlines precautions to be aware of when including non-controlled studies as evidence, and recommends effective tools to use to analyse the results from these types of studies.

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Fact Sheet