Scope of our work

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews now has an Impact Factor of 5.182 and is ranked 12th out of 107 in the ISI category of Medicine, General and Internal.  

Current published Protocols of the PHRG
Collaboration between local health and local government agencies for health improvement

Titles currently registered (ie protocol now under development) with the PHRG
Community-level interventions to improve food security in developed countries 
Workplace based health promotion interventions for preventing and reducing adult obesity
Flexible working conditions and their effects on employee health and well being
Community wide activities for increasing physical activity
Wheat flour fortification with Iron for reducing anaemia and improving iron status in populations
Community-based interventions for enhancing access to and/or consumption of fruits and vegetables among 5-18 year olds
Population level interventions for improving health outcomes in ex-prisoners
Housing improvements for health and associated socio-economic outcomes (Campbell protocol for co-registration)
Interventions addressing gender disparities in family food distribution for improving child nutrition

Titles currently under development 
School-time scheduling and its effects on the education, health and wellbeing of students aged 5-18 years
Community-building interventions for improving physical, social and mental health
Oral health promotion for oral health
Interventions utilising marketing strategies for promoting healthy eating behaviours in young people
Food policies and their related interventions to improve access to healthy foods in mothers and children under five
Slum upgrading strategies and their effects on health and social outcomes

The overall work program of the PHRG includes:
1. Production of systematic reviews of population level interventions, focusing on building an evidence base of what will increase equity and reduce inequalities
2. Contributing to methodological developments for research synthesis of public health research
3. Knowledge translation and exchange initiatives
4. Developing strategies to build primary research and rigorous evaluations of population level interventions (policy, programs, legislation, community interventions), including maintaining a specialised studies register

Our core work - publication of Cochrane reviews
The PHRG  facilitates the production of systematic reviews of the effects of public health interventions to improve health and other outcomes at the population level, not those targeted at individuals.  Thus, it covers interventions seeking to address broader, distal determinants of health.  In line with the underlying principles of public health, we look to target reviews that have a significant focus on equity. It is hoped that these reviews will contribute to building the evidence to address the social determinants of health.   Interventions for review will usually be multi-sectoral, that is, not confined to development and delivery of the intervention within or by the health sector. 

The scope of the reviews of this group will not replicate the health promotion work that existing CRGs are currently doing, which already make a substantive contribution to public health reviews, but seek to address the gap in The Cochrane Library for reviews of the evidence on upstream, equity oriented public health interventions to improve population health outcomes.

Potential review questions
The scope is best understood by looking at the our topic tree within The Cochrane Library (go to www.thecochranelibrary.com, Go to BROWSE Cochrane Reviews and click on By Topic, and then scroll down the list and click on Public Health). The Topic List is broken down into ten main categories (plus a miscellaneous 'other'), which broadly cover the areas of interest to the Group.  The topics below are examples only.  Only those with a ** are derived fom a formal prioritisation process.  They are mostly quite broad and will need refining to ensure a question that is 'doable' whilst also being relevant to decision makers.

Potential authors wil need to show a good knowledge of the topic area and be abe to demonstrate how a Cochrane review will help to fill a gap in the existing literature (thus a good knowledge of the existing literature and evidence needs of the target audience will need to be shown). 

All but those in bold are vacant topics, that is, open for author teams to refine and apply to the PHRG to register.  If overlaping with reviews under developent or not considered appropriate in the context of the litertaure, titles below may not be registered, as they are examples only. Questions outside of this list are also welcomed, if they fit under the defined scope of the PHRG. 

EMPLOYMENT & THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

        *       Collaboration with council and workplaces to provide facilities (eg showers and bike racks) that encourage active transport
        *       Collaboration with major workplaces for introducing healthy staff canteen policy
        *       Designated workplace health promotion worker in workplace for supporting colleagues in developing organisation-wide health activities
        *       Workplace and/or legislative interventions for addressing work-life balance in adults
        *       Workplace interventions (e.g. flexible work hours, control over shift patterns) for improving employee health and well being

INCOME DISTRIBUTION/FINANCIAL INTERVENTIONS

        *       Business loans and other financial strategies for improving wellbeing (and other health outcomes) of women in developing countries
        *       Cash transfer programs for improving health and related outcomes
        *       Equity funds financed by government for increasing health insurance coverage specifically for the poor
        *       Financing mechanisms for improving access to health services for poor people
        *       Provision of scholarships for improving health and related outcomes in economically vulnerable students
        *       School entry and childcare payments linked to administration of childhood immunisation for improving immunization rates

HOUSING and THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

        *       Healthy cities, municipalities or spaces projects for reducing health risk factors
        *       Housing interventions for improved health and socioeconomic outcomes
        *       Interventions for minimizing the adverse health effects of urban sprawl (a modified version of this topic isunder development)

FOOD SUPPLY / ACCESS

        **       Interventions addressing gender disparities in family food distribution for improving child nutrition
        *       Interventions aimed at enhancing access for increased consumption of fruit and vegetables
        **      Interventions focusing on adolescent girls for improving the nutritional status in women of child-bearing age prior to first pregnancy
        *       Interventions for improving food security
        **      Interventions for improving nutritional status in refugee and displaced populations
        **       Pricing policies for increasing healthy food choices (a modified version of this topic isunder development)
        *       Sales promotion strategies of supermarkets for increasing healthier food purchase

EDUCATION (in consultation with Campbell Education Coordinating Group and Cochrane DPLP Group where appropriate)

        *       Interventions for increasing school completion rates

HEALTH & RELATED SYSTEMS

        *       Advocacy to increase the range of options for people with disabilities to use all public facilities, including sports and recreation programs
        **       Capacity building interventions for health care professionals for promoting health
        *       Contracting out primary health care services to NGOs for increasing uptake of services by the poor

PUBLIC SAFETY (in consultation with Campbell Justice Coordinating Group and Cochrane Injuries Group where appropriate)

        *       Community-led advocacy for improving safety around schools
        *       Legislation to ban drivers using cell phones

SOCIAL NETWORKS/SUPPORT

        *       Enhancing/Building protective environments for reducing health risk behaviours in adolescents
        *       Interventions to enhance development of social networks for promoting wellbeing
        *       Transport schemes for improving social connectedness of adults
        **       Community-building interventions to improve physical, social and mental health

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

        *       Community-led advocacy for eliminating hazardous chemicals in local soils
        *       Community-level educational strategies for preventing water-borne infections/food borne infections
        *       Environmental strategies for preventing water-borne infections/food-borne infections
        **       Interventions that employ a combination of environmental, social and educational strategies for increasing proper garbage disposal to promote health
        *       Interventions that employ a combination of environmental, social and educational strategies for preventing water-borne infections/food-borne infections        
*       Social strategies for preventing water-borne infections/food-borne infections

TRANSPORT

        *       Active transport initiatives for increasing physical activity
        *       Increasing the supply/quality of public sidewalks and walking trails for increasing physical activity levels of communities
        *       Segregated cycle facilities for increasing the use of active transport by adults and children
        *       Transport schemes for improving social connectedness of adults

OTHER

        **       Initiatives for promoting health among out-of-school youth
        *       Introduction of restricted trading hours for gaming venues for reducing problem gambling
        *       Mass media campaigns for promoting vaccinations at a community/population level
        *       Oral health promotion for oral health