Contemporary Public Health Finance: Varied Definitions, Patterns, and Implications.

The financing of public health systems and services relies on a complex and fragmented web of partners and funding priorities. Both underfunding and "dys-funding" contribute to preventable mortality, increases in disease frequency and severity, and hindered social and economic growth. These issues were both illuminated and magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated responses. Further complicating issues is the difficulty in constructing adequate estimates of current public health resources and necessary resources. Each of these challenges inhibits the delivery of necessary services, leads to inequitable access and resourcing, contributes to resource volatility, and presents other deleterious outcomes. However, actions may be taken to defragment complex funding paradigms toward more flexible spending, to modernize and standardize data systems, and to assure equitable and sustainable public health investments.

Examining Characteristics of Local Public Health Systems With Exceptional Tribal Organization Participation.

OBJECTIVE: To learn feasible ways to increase multisector community partnership with tribal organizations, meaning tribal health authorities or American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN)-serving organizations, by examining characteristics of local public health systems with exceptional tribal organization participation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In total, 728 local public health departments were surveyed in 2018 to generate a nationally representative sample of local public health systems in the United States. A positive deviance approach using logistic regression helped identify local public health systems that had tribal organization participation despite characteristics that make such participation statistically unlikely. Local public health systems with exceptional tribal organization participation were compared with systems with conventional participation, examining measures known to impact the formation of public health partnerships. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: This study used an exploratory logistic regression approach to identify unique characteristics of local public health systems with exceptional tribal organization participation. RESULTS: Of 728 health systems surveyed, 21 were identified as having exceptional tribal organization participation. Across varying thresholds to identify exceptional participation, having a higher network density and prioritizing equity in public health activities were found to consistently distinguish exceptional tribal organization participation in both nonrural and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Public health partnerships with tribal organizations are possible even in circumstances that make them unlikely. Efforts to build denser networks of collaborating organizations and prioritize equity may help public health systems achieve success with tribal organization partnerships.

Who Delivers Maternal and Child Health Services? The Contributions of Public Health and Other Community Partners.

Policy Points Local health departments with direct maternal and child health service provisions exhibit greater social service collaboration, thereby enhancing community capacity to improve health care access and social determinant support. These findings may prioritize collaboration as a community-based effort to reduce disparities in maternal and child health and chronic disease. CONTEXT: Improving maternal and child health (MCH) care in the United States requires solutions to address care access and the social determinants that contribute to health disparities. Direct service provision of MCH services by local health departments (LHDs) may substitute or complement public health services provided by other community organizations, impacting local service delivery capacity. We measured MCH service provision among LHDs and examined its association with patterns of social service collaboration among community partners. METHODS: We analyzed the 2018 National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems and 2016 National Association of County and City Health Officials Profile data to measure the LHD provision of MCH services and the types of social services involved in the implementation of essential public health activities. We compared the extensive and intensive margins of social service collaboration among LHDs with any versus no MCH service provision. We then used latent class analysis (LCA) to classify collaboration and logistic regression to estimate community correlates of collaboration. FINDINGS: Of 620 LHDs, 527 (85%) provided at least one of seven observed MCH services. The most common service was Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (71%), and the least common was obstetric care (15%). LHDs with MCH service provision were significantly more likely to collaborate with all types of social service organizations. LCA identified two classes of LHDs: high (n = 257; 49%) and low (n = 270; 51%) collaborators. Between 74% and 96% of high collaborators were engaged with social service organizations that provided basic needs services, compared with 31%-60% of low collaborators. Rurality and very high maternal vulnerability were significantly correlated with low collaboration among MCH service-providing LHDs. CONCLUSIONS: LHDs with direct MCH service provision exhibited greater social service collaboration. Collaboration was lowest in rural communities and communities with very high maternal vulnerability. Over half of MCH service-providing LHDs were classified as low collaborators, suggesting unrealized opportunities for social service engagement in these communities.

Identifying Value-Added Population Health Capabilities to Strengthen Public Health Infrastructure.

Policy Points While the coronavirus pandemic has underscored the important role of public health systems in protecting community health, it has also exposed weaknesses in the public health infrastructure that stem from chronic underfunding and fragmentation in delivery systems. The results of our study suggest that the public health system structure can be strengthened through the targeted implementation of high-value population health capabilities. Prioritizing the delivery of value-added population health capabilities can help communities efficiently use limited time and resources and identify the most effective pathways for building a stronger public health system and improving health outcomes over time. CONTEXT: While the novel coronavirus pandemic has underscored the important role of public health systems in protecting community health, it has also exposed weaknesses in the public health infrastructure that stem from chronic underfunding and fragmentation in public health delivery systems. Information about the relative value in the implementation of recommended population health capabilities can help communities prioritize their use of limited time and resources and identify the most effective pathways for building a stronger public health system. METHODS: We used a longitudinal cohort design with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems to examine longitudinal and geographic trends in the delivery of population health capabilities and their impact on system strength across communities in the United States. We used linear probability models to ascertain whether the delivery of certain capabilities added value to public health system strength. FINDINGS: Those communities with the strongest classification of public health system structure in both urban and rural areas implemented the largest set of population health capabilities. Results from the linear probability model indicate that a set of population health capabilities are associated with increased public health system strength. Key activities include allocating resources based on a community health plan, surveying the community for behavioral risk factors, analyzing the data on preventive services use, and engaging community stakeholders in health improvement planning (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that public health systems can be strengthened through the targeted implementation of high-value population health capabilities. Prioritizing the delivery of value-added population health capabilities may help communities increase their public health system's capacity and improve health outcomes.

Public Health Systems and Social Services: Breadth and Depth of Cross-Sector Collaboration.

Objectives. To examine the extent to which social service organizations participate in the organizational networks that implement public health activities in US communities, consistent with recent national recommendations.Methods. Using data from a national sample of US communities, we measured the breadth and depth of engagement in public health activities among specific types of social and community service organizations.Results. Engagement was most prevalent (breadth) among organizations providing housing and food assistance, with engagement present in more than 70% of communities. Engagement was least prevalent among economic development, environmental protection, and law and justice organizations (less than 33% of communities). Depth of engagement was shallow and focused on a narrow range of public health activities.Conclusions. Cross-sector relationships between public health and the housing and food sectors are now widespread across the United States, giving most communities viable avenues for addressing selected social determinants of health. Relationships with many other social and community service organizations are more limited.Public Health Implications. Public health leaders should prioritize opportunities for engagement with low-connectivity social sectors in their communities such as law, justice, and economic development.

The Growing Divide in the Composition of Public Health Delivery Systems in US Rural and Urban Communities, 2014-2018.

Objectives. To examine changes in the scope of activity and organizational composition of public health delivery systems serving rural and urban US communities between 2014 and 2018.Methods. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems to measure the implementation of recommended public health activities and the network of organizations contributing to these activities in a nationally representative cohort of US communities. We used multivariable regression models to test for rural-urban differences between 2014 and 2018.Results. The scope of recommended activities implemented in rural areas declined by 3.4 percentage points between 2014 and 2018, whereas it increased by 1.4 percentage points in urban areas. The rural-urban disparity in scope of activities grew by a total of 4.8 percentage points (P < .05) over this time. The disparity in network density grew by 2.3 percentage points (P < .05).Conclusions. Urban public health systems have enhanced their scope of activities and organizational networks since 2014, whereas rural systems have lost capacity. These trends suggest that system improvement initiatives have had uneven success, and they may contribute to growing rural-urban disparities in population health status.

Examining the Trade-off Between NICU Length of Stay and Postdischarge Monitoring: An Instrumental Variables Approach.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Treatment of very low birth weight infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be expensive, particularly in rural areas, but may potentially reduce long-term treatment costs and improve short- and long-term health outcomes. Few studies look at this trade-off. We employed an instrumental variables approach (fuzzy discontinuity) based on changes in practice for the treatment of very low birth weight infants in a perinatal referral center's NICU in 2000-2001. The strategy of keeping infants in a NICU longer reduced the likelihood of discharge with an apnea/cardio monitor. The primary instrumental variables specification estimated that every additional 100 g of discharge weight reduced the likelihood of discharge with an apnea/cardio monitor by 4.8%. Extending an infant's length of stay (LOS) thus has important benefits. Greater expenses on days in the NICU are partially compensated by reduced monitoring post discharge. In contexts where postdischarge monitoring is particularly difficult or expensive, extending LOS may be cost effective and potentially improve outcomes.

Changes in Local Public Health System Performance Before and After Attainment of National Accreditation Standards.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accreditation on the delivery of public health services and on participation from other sectors in the delivery of public health services in local public health systems. DESIGN: This study uses a longitudinal repeated measures design to identify differences between a cohort of public health systems containing PHAB-accredited local health departments and a cohort of public health systems containing unaccredited local health departments. It uses data spanning from 2006 to 2016. SETTING: This study examines a cohort of local public health systems that serves large populations and contains unaccredited and PHAB-accredited local health departments. PARTICIPANTS: Data in this study were collected from the directors of health departments that include local public health systems followed in the National Longitudinal Study of Public Health Systems. INTERVENTION: The intervention examined is PHAB accreditation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The study focuses on 4 areas: the delivery of core public health services, local health department contribution toward these services, participation in the delivery of these services by other members of the public health system, and public health system makeup. RESULTS: Prior to the advent of accreditation, public health systems containing local health departments that were later accredited by PHAB appear quite similar to their unaccredited peers. Substantial differences between the 2 cohorts appear to manifest themselves after the advent of accreditation. Specifically, the accredited cohort seems to offer a broader array of public health services, involve more partners in the delivery of those services, and enjoy a higher percentage of comprehensive public health systems. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that accreditation may yield significant benefits and may help public health systems develop the public health system capital necessary to protect and promote the public's health.

Public Health and Hospitals: Lessons Learned From Partnerships in a Changing Health Care Environment.

Recent changes in policymaking, such as the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, have ushered in a new era in community health partnerships. To investigate characteristics of effective collaboration between hospitals, their parent systems, and the public health community, with the support of major hospital, medical, and public health associations, we compiled a list of 157 successful partnerships. This set was subsequently narrowed to 12 successful and diverse partnerships. After conducting site visits in each of the partnerships' communities and interviews with key partnership participants, we extracted lessons about their success. The lessons we have learned from our investigation have the potential to assist others as they develop partnerships.

Economic shocks and public health protections in US metropolitan areas.

OBJECTIVES: We examined public health system responses to economic shocks using longitudinal observations of public health activities implemented in US metropolitan areas from 1998 to 2012. METHODS: The National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems collected data on the implementation of 20 core public health activities in a nationally representative cohort of 280 metropolitan areas in 1998, 2006, and 2012. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate how local economic shocks relate to the scope of activities implemented in communities, the mix of organizations performing them, and perceptions of the effectiveness of activities. RESULTS: Public health activities fell by nearly 5% in the average community between 2006 and 2012, with the bottom quintile of communities losing nearly 25% of their activities. Local public health delivery fell most sharply among communities experiencing the largest increases in unemployment and the largest reductions in governmental public health spending. CONCLUSIONS: Federal resources and private sector contributions failed to avert reductions in local public health protections during the recession. New financing mechanisms may be necessary to ensure equitable public health protections during economic downturns.

Hospital Contributions to the Delivery of Public Health Activities in US Metropolitan Areas: National and Longitudinal Trends.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated changes in hospital participation in local public health systems and the delivery of public health activities over time and assessed the relationship between hospital participation and the scope of activities available in local public health systems. METHODS: We used longitudinal observations from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems to examine how hospital contributions to the delivery of core public health activities varied in 1998, 2006, and 2012. We then used multivariate regression to assess the relationship between the level of hospital contributions and the overall availability of public health activities in the system. RESULTS: Hospital participation in public health activities increased from 37% in 1998 to 41% in 2006 and down to 39% in 2012. Regression results indicated a positive association between hospital participation in public health activities and the total availability of public health services in the systems. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital collaboration does play an important role in the overall availability of public health services in local public health systems. Efforts to increase hospital participation in public health may have a positive impact on the scope of services provided and population health in US communities.

Community Health Assessment and Improved Public Health Decision-Making: A Propensity Score Matching Approach.

OBJECTIVES: We analyzed the likelihood of chronic disease prevention activities delivery, as a proxy measure of public health decision-making and actions, given that local health agencies (LHAs) implemented a community health assessment and improvement plan in their communities. METHODS: Using a propensity score matching approach, we linked data from the 2010 National Association of County and City Health Officials profile of LHAs and the 2010 County Health Rankings to create a statistically matched sample of implementation and comparison LHAs. Implementation LHAs were those that implemented a community health assessment and improvement plan. We estimated the odds of chronic disease prevention activities delivery and the average treatment effect on the treated. RESULTS: Implementation group LHAs were 2 times as likely (95% confidence interval = 1.60, 2.64) to deliver population-based chronic disease prevention programs than comparison group LHAs. Furthermore, chronic disease prevention activities were more likely to be delivered among implementation group LHAs (6.50-19.02 percentage points higher) than in comparison group LHAs. CONCLUSIONS: Our results signal that routine implementation of a community health assessment and improvement plan in LHAs leads to improved public health decision-making and actions.

Impact of Economic Constraints on Public Health Delivery Systems Structures.

OBJECTIVES: We estimated the effect of economic constraints on public health delivery systems (PHDS) density and centrality during 3 time periods, 1998, 2006, and 2012. METHODS: We obtained data from the 1998, 2006, and 2012 National Longitudinal Study of Public Health Agencies; the 1993, 1997, 2005, and 2010 National Association for County and City Health Officials Profile Study; and the 1997, 2008, and 2011 Area Resource Files. We used multivariate regression models for panel data to estimate the impact of economic constraints on PHDS density and centrality. RESULTS: Findings indicate that economic constraints did not have a significant impact on PHDS density and centrality over time but population is a significant predictor of PHDS density, and the presence of a board of health (BOH) is a significant predictor of PHDS density and centrality. Specifically, a 1% increase in population results in a significant 1.71% increase in PHDS density. The presence of a BOH is associated with a 10.2% increase in PHDS centrality, after controlling for other factors. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that other noneconomic factors influence PHDS density centrality.

Longitudinal Trends in Insurer Participation in Multisector Population Health Activities.

Healthcare organizations increasingly engage in activities to identify and address social determinants of health (SDOH) among their patients to improve health outcomes and reduce costs. While several studies to date have focused on the evolving role of hospitals and physicians in these types of population health activities, much less is known about the role health insurers may play. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems for the period 2006 to 2018 to examine trends in health insurer participation in population health activities and in the multi-sector collaborative networks that support these activities. We also used a difference-in-differences approach to examine the impact of Medicaid expansion on insurer participation in population health networks. Insurer participation increased in our study period both in the delivery of population health activities and in the integration into collaborative networks that support these activities. Insurers were most likely to participate in activities focusing on community health assessment and policy development. Results from our adjusted difference-in-differences models showed variation in association between insurer participation in population health networks and Medicaid expansion (Table 2). Population health networks in expansion states experienced significant increases insurer participation in assessment (4.48 percentage points, P < .05) and policy and planning (7.66 percentage points, P < .05) activities. Encouraging insurance coverage gains through policy mechanisms like Medicaid expansion may not only improve access to healthcare services but can also act as a driver of insurer integration into population health networks.

US Hospital Service Availability and New 340B Program Participation.

Importance: The US 340B Drug Pricing Program enables eligible hospitals to receive substantial discounts on outpatient drugs to improve hospitals' financial sustainability and maintain access to care for patients who have low income and/or are uninsured. However, it is unclear whether hospitals use program savings to subsidize access as intended. Objective: To evaluate whether the 340B program is associated with improvements in access to hospital-based services and to test whether the association varies by hospital ownership. Design, Setting, and Participants: Difference-in-differences and cohort analysis from 2010 to 2019. Never and newly participating 340B general, acute, nonfederal hospitals in the US using data from the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals merged with hospital and market characteristics. Data were analyzed from January 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024. Exposures: New enrollment in 340B between 2012 and 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures: Total number of unprofitable service lines, ie, substance use, psychiatric (inpatient and outpatient), burn clinic, and obstetrics services; and profitable services, ie, cardiac surgery and orthopedic, oncologic, neurologic, and neonatal intensive services. Results: The study sample comprised a total of 2152 hospitals, 1074 newly participating and 1078 not participating in the 340B program. Participating hospitals were more likely than nonparticipating hospitals to be critical access and teaching hospitals, have higher Medicaid shares, and be located in rural areas and in Medicaid expansion states. At public hospitals, participation in the 340B program was associated with a significant increase in total unprofitable services (0.21; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.38; P = .02) and marginal increases in substance use (5.4 percentage points [pp]; 95% CI, -0.8 pp to 11.6 pp; P = .09) and inpatient psychiatric (6.5 pp; 95% CI, -0.7 pp to 13.7 pp; P = .09) services. Among nonprofit hospitals, there was no significant association between 340B and service offerings (profitable and unprofitable) except for an increase in oncologic services (2.5 pp; 95% CI, 0.0 pp to 5.0 pp; P = .05). Conclusions and Relevance: The finding of the cohort study indicate that participation in the 340B program was associated with an increase in unprofitable services among newly participating public hospitals. Nonprofit hospitals were largely unaffected. These findings suggest that public hospitals responded to 340B savings by improving patient access, whereas nonprofits did not. This heterogeneous response should be considered when evaluating the eligibility criteria for the 340B program and how it affects social welfare.

Association Between Insurer Connectivity in Appalachian Population Health Networks and Preventable Hospitalizations: Evidence from Kentucky.

Introduction: Addressing complex health and social needs requires cross-sector collaboration to deliver medical, social, and population health services at the community level. Capacity in community health and social services networks may be constrained in regions like Appalachia due to the combined effects of rurality and persistently poor health and social outcomes. One way that cross-sector networks serving low-resource communities can expand their capacity is by engaging partners, like health insurers, who can leverage resources from outside the local area. Purpose: This study examines insurer connectivity in cross-sector networks across Kentucky's geographic regions and the association between connectivity and the probability of an individual experiencing a preventable hospitalization. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used that linked data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems (NALSYS) with 2018 patient-level Kentucky hospital discharge data to examine the association between insurer connectivity in community networks and preventable hospitalizations across urban, rural non-Appalachian, and Appalachian regions. Results: Analysis of the data shows substantial geographic variation in the association between insurer connectivity in community networks and preventable hospitalization. Insurer connectivity in rural Appalachian communities was associated with lower likelihood that an individual was admitted for a preventable hospitalization ( p < 0.01). Implications: Findings suggest insurer connectivity in cross-sector community health and social services networks has the potential to strengthen network capacity to address preventable hospitalizations and improve health outcomes and well-being for the people of Appalachia.

Medicaid Payment For Postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Prompts More Equitable Use.

To increase access to highly effective contraception and improve reproductive autonomy, a growing number of state Medicaid programs pay for the provision of immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) in addition to providing a global payment for maternity care. Using Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data, we examined postpartum LARC use both overall and by race and ethnicity among respondents with Medicaid-paid births during the period 2012-18 in eight states that implemented immediate postpartum LARC payment and eight states without it. Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design, we found that the policy resulted in an overall 2.1-percentage-point increase in postpartum LARC use. Our triple-differences analysis found no significant change among White mothers and a 3.7-percentage-point increase in use among Black mothers compared with White mothers. Additional research is needed to determine whether this increase was aligned with patients' preferences and whether hospitals' immediate postpartum LARC policies and practices take a patient-centered approach that supports reproductive autonomy and equity.

Impact of state Medicaid expansion on cross-sector health and social service networks: Evidence from a longitudinal cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of state Medicaid expansion on the delivery of population health activities in cross-sector health and social services networks. Community networks are multisector, interorganizational networks that provide services ranging from the direct provision of individual social services to the implementation of population-level initiatives addressing community outcomes. DATA SOURCES: We used data measuring the composition of cross-sector population health networks 2006-2018 National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems (NALSYS) linked with the Area Health Resource File. STUDY DESIGN: A difference-in-differences approach was used to examine the impact of expansion on organization engagement in population health activities and network structure. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Stratified random sampling of local public health jurisdictions in the United States. We restricted our data to jurisdictions serving populations of 100,000 or more and states that had NALSYS observations across all time periods, resulting in a final sample size of 667. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Results from our adjusted difference-in-differences estimates indicated that Medicaid expansion was associated with a 2.3 percentage point increase in the density of population health networks (p < 0.10). Communities in states that expanded Medicaid experienced significant increases in the participation of local public health, local government, hospital, nonprofit, insurer, and K-12 schools. Of the organizations with significant increases in expansion communities, nonprofits (7.7 percentage points, p < 0.01), local public health agencies (6.5 percentage points, p < 0.01), hospitals (5.8 percentage points, p < 0.01), and local government agencies (6.0 percentage points, p < 0.05) had the largest gains. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found increases in cross-sector participation in population health networks in states that expanded Medicaid compared with nonexpansion states, suggesting that additional coverage gains are associated with positive changes in population health network structure.

Moving from intersection to integration: public health law research and public health systems and services research.

CONTEXT: For three decades, experts have been stressing the importance of law to the effective operation of public health systems. Most recently, in a 2011 report, the Institute of Medicine recommended a review of state and local public health laws to ensure appropriate authority for public health agencies; adequate access to legal counsel for public health agencies; evaluations of the health effects and costs associated with legislation, regulations, and policies; and enhancement of research methods to assess the strength of evidence regarding the health effects of public policies. These recommendations, and the continued interest in law as a determinant of health system performance, speak to the need for integrating the emerging fields of Public Health Law Research (PHLR) and Public Health Systems and Services Research (PHSSR). METHODS: Expert commentary. FINDINGS: This article sets out a unified framework for the two fields and a shared research agenda built around three broad inquiries: (1) the structural role of law in shaping the organization, powers, prerogatives, duties, and limitations of public health agencies and thereby their functioning and ultimately their impact on public health ("infrastructure"); (2) the mechanisms through which public health system characteristics influence the implementation of interventional public health laws ("implementation"); and (3) the individual and system characteristics that influence the ability of public health systems and their community partners to develop and secure enactment of legal initiatives to advance public health ("innovation"). Research to date has laid a foundation of evidence, but progress requires better and more accessible data, a new generation of researchers comfortable in both law and health research, and more rigorous methods. CONCLUSIONS: The routine integration of law as a salient factor in broader PHSSR studies of public health system functioning and health outcomes will enhance the usefulness of research in supporting practice and the long-term improvement of system performance.

Expanding delivery system research in public health settings: lessons from practice-based research networks.

BACKGROUND: Delivery system research to identify how best to organize, finance, and implement health improvement strategies has focused heavily on clinical practice settings, with relatively little attention paid to public health settings-where research is made more difficult by wide heterogeneity in settings and limited sources of existing data and measures. This study examines the approaches used by public health practice-based research networks (PBRNs) to expand delivery system research and evidence-based practice in public health settings. METHODS: Practice-based research networks employ quasi-experimental research designs, natural experiments, and mixed-method analytic techniques to evaluate how community partnerships, economic shocks, and policy changes impact delivery processes in public health settings. In addition, network analysis methods are used to assess patterns of interaction between practitioners and researchers within PBRNs to produce and apply research findings. RESULTS: Findings from individual PBRN studies elucidate the roles of information exchange, community resources, and leadership and decision-making structures in shaping implementation outcomes in public health delivery. Network analysis of PBRNs reveals broad engagement of both practitioners and researchers in scientific inquiry, with practitioners in the periphery of these networks reporting particularly large benefits from research participation. CONCLUSIONS: Public health PBRNs provide effective mechanisms for implementing delivery system research and engaging practitioners in the process. These networks also hold promise for accelerating the translation and application of research findings into public health settings.