The importance of evidence-informed approaches in policy formulation and implementation has long been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its Member States. With the General Programme of Work (GPW)13 and the creation of the Science Division, WHO has reinforced its science and evidence-based mandate. This guide offers staff and partner organizations a compendium of WHO tools to successfully leverage evidence for policy and impact, and promote evidence-informed decision-making for safe and effective health policy and practice at country and global levels. Through its framework, the guide will increase awareness and uptake of existing tools and best practices, and additionally facilitate collaboration between areas within the Organization and with partners across countries and regions.

Evidence syntheses use multidisciplinary and intersectoral sources of evidence to support policy-making. The Health Evidence Network (HEN) has supported and strengthened the use of evidence in health policy-making in the WHO European Region since 2003. The HEN synthesis report series responds to public health questions by summarizing the best available global and local findings from peer-reviewed and grey literature as well as policy options and proposes general directions strategies and actions for consideration. This resource has been developed to outline key approaches methods and considerations for a HEN evidence synthesis to support the systematic and routine use of the best available evidence for decision-making relevant to the needs of public health decision-makers. It proposes approaches that hold both scientific rigour and practical applicability for individuals and institutions that perform commission review and/or publish evidence syntheses.

When communities face complex public health emergencies, state local, tribal, and territorial public health agencies must make difficult decisions regarding how to effectively respond. The public health emergency preparedness and response (PHEPR) system, with its multifaceted mission to prevent, protect against, quickly respond to, and recover from public health emergencies, is inherently complex and encompasses policies, organizations, and programs. Since the events of September 11, 2001, the United States has invested billions of dollars and immeasurable amounts of human capital to develop and enhance public health emergency preparedness and infrastructure to respond to a wide range of public health threats, including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events. Despite the investments in research and the growing body of empirical literature on a range of preparedness and response capabilities and functions, there has been no national-level, comprehensive review and grading of evidence for public health emergency preparedness and response practices comparable to those utilized in medicine and other public health fields. Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response reviews the state of the evidence on PHEPR practices and the improvements necessary to move the field forward and to strengthen the PHEPR system. This publication evaluates PHEPR evidence to understand the balance of benefits and harms of PHEPR practices, with a focus on four main areas of PHEPR: engagement with and training of community-based partners to improve the outcomes of at-risk populations after public health emergencies; activation of a public health emergency operations center; communication of public health alerts and guidance to technical audiences during a public health emergency; and implementation of quarantine to reduce the spread of contagious illness.

The importance of health systems has been reinforced by the commitment of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (L&MICs) to pursue the targets of Universal Health Coverage, Health Security, and to achieve Health-related Sustainable Development Goals. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the fragility of health systems in countries of all income groups. Authored by international experts across five continents, this book demonstrates how health systems can be strengthened in L&MICs by unravelling their complexities and by offering a comprehensive overview of fundamental concepts, performance assessment approaches and improvement strategies to address health system challenges in L&MICs. Centred on evidence and advocacy this unique resource on health systems in L&MICs will benefit a wide range of audiences including, readers engaged in public health practice, educational programs and research initiatives; faculties of public health and population sciences; policymakers, managers and health professionals working for governments, civil society organizations and development agencies in health.

Evidence Synthesis in Healthcare – a Practical Handbook for Clinicians is the first book to reveal the field of Evidence Synthesis, by combining multiple sources of quantitative/qualitative data to derive the best evidence for use in healthcare. Through the use of clearly explained examples and practical explanations, Evidence Synthesis in Healthcare – a Practical Handbook for Clinicians describes the practical tools, techniques, uses and policy considerations of evidence synthesis techniques in modern healthcare practice.