Support for this program ended in 2015: Capacity Building

Pragmatic Randomized Trials

Randomized Trials in PHSSR: New Opportunities and Resources Webinar. Promising new social policy research integrates randomized trials in pragmatic ways to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of programs, policies, and implementation strategies in real-world settings. Although random assignment methods are the gold standard for strong internal validity and determining causality in studies, randomized trials are often overlooked in public health research designs due to study time and cost concerns as well as logistical, legal or ethical barriers. On this July 29, 2015 webinar for PHSSR Partner Organizations, presenters described simplified approaches that make randomization less onerous, resources to help organizations support new approaches, and learning system environments to encourage randomization in future studies.

  • Moderator: Glen Mays, PhD, MPH, Director, Center for PHSSR, University of Kentucky
  • Making Randomized Evaluations More Feasible: Mary Ann Bates, MPP, Deputy Director, J-PAL North America, MIT.  

J-PAL North America supports researchers conducting randomized evaluations, helps decision makers use research evidence in policy decisions and program design, and provides training courses on the value of impact evaluation.

  • Randomized Trial Example: LHD Workers' Sense of Efficacy Toward Hurricane Sandy Recovery:  Daniel Barnett, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

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Research-In-Progress Webinars

PHSSR and Public Health PBRN grantees share their preliminary findings with the public in the Research-in-Progress webinar series.  Researchers share information about data sets and sources, methods, and study design with their peers, while receiving valuable feedback from subject matter and methodological experts. Please click the links below to view topic and speaker information about the upcoming webinars.


PHSSR Research-In-Progress Webinars

The PHSSR Research-in-Progress Webinar Series enables investigators whose PHSSR and Public Health PBRN awards are in-process or completed to share their work and disseminate findings more rapidly, and to identify others with like research interests. Each webinar includes research findings to date, commentary by researchers and public health practitioners, and time for questions and discussion. Upcoming presentations are promoted through the PHSSR contact list, and a recording of each presentation is available on the website.

Click here to view the schedule and browse the archives.


Public Health PBRN Research-In-Progress Webinars

The Public Health PBRN Research-in-Progress Webinar Series was a monthly virtual meeting with representatives from all PBRNs. Each edition of this meeting included a Research-in-Progress session led by a different PBRN each month, sharing real-time experiences with scientific, administrative, logistical, and substantive dimensions of their research projects. Networks presented issues that emerged during all phases of the research process, from conceptualization of questions, to measurement, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Considerable dialog occurred in the question and answer sessions after each presentation. Each meeting also included a grants administration segment to discuss topics such as network development, professional and community engagement, and dissemination strategies.

Click here to browse the archives.


Public Health PBRN Training Webinars

Click here browse through the archives.