Public health decision making can be a complicated process because of complex inputs and group decision making. Public health research and practice during the last century gained many notable achievements and contributed to the 30-year gain in life expectancy. Despite these accomplishments, a greater attention to evidence-based approaches may be helpful.

Key components of evidence-based approach to public health (EBPH) include making decisions on the basis of the best available scientific evidence, using sound data collection and research methods together with engaging the community in decision making. An EBPH could potentially have numerous direct and indirect benefits, including access to more and higher-quality information on best practice, a higher likelihood of successful prevention programs and policies, greater workforce productivity, and more efficient use of public and private resources.

We invite researchers to contribute original research articles as well as review or methodological articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to generate and implement evidence-based knowledge and practice for public health and public health decision making.

We anticipate papers will address questions such as: what should be the criteria of effectiveness of different population-based public health models, programs, and policy decisions?; what weight of evidence is sufficient for public health policy or action?; what are the issues around the cost-effectiveness and economic benefit analysis in implementation of public health interventions, programs, or policy?; what are relevant instruments and methods to assess impact on health, quality of life, behaviour, health equity, and efficiency?; what can EBPH learn from clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine?

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Methods and methodological issues around generating evidence for population-level decisions
• New applications and technologies for evidence-based public health practice and research
• Tools for evidence-based public health research and practice
• Evidence synthesis for evidence-based public health policies
• Evidence on community-based participatory research
• Evidence reviews on public health interventions
• Health impact assessment in public health practice
• Health technology assessment and economic aspects of public health interventions evidence-based public health practice guidelines
• Translating available evidence to public health practice
• Public health decision making when the evidence is not conclusive
• Evidence-based public health policy and practice
• Evaluation of public health policies
• Workforce training needs and approaches