Consider specific sources of evidence

Bilingual publications about synthesizing evidence

Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ)

INSPQ has a good selection of bilingual reports about synthesizing evidence. Examples of topics include: Interventions in Canada that have contributed to a reduction in health inequalities; Public policies on nutrition labeling – effects and implementation issues; Geographical indicators of the built environment and services environment influencing physical activity, diet and body weight.

The Canadian Best Practices Portal (CBPP) intervention database

Public Health Agency of Canada

The CBPP intervention database is a compendium of community interventions related to chronic disease prevention and health promotion that have been evaluated, shown to be successful, and have the potential to be adapted and replicated by practitioners working in similar fields. Launched publicly in November of 2006, it is a major project of the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention (CCDP) within the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). It contains: a catalogue of best practice systematic review sites; a searchable database of interventions; and links to other Canadian resources that will help you reach your public health planning, chronic disease prevention and health promotion goals.

National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policies (NCCHPP)

NCCHPP has a mandate to increase the expertise of public health actors across Canada in healthy public policy through the development, sharing and use of knowledge. Their resources and publications are a valuable source of evidence and how-to information about policy development and evaluation. Their focus is on policy development in general as well as specific to topics including the built environment, health inequalities and more.

Public Health +

National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT)

Created by the McMaster Health Knowledge Refinery, every article in this database is critically appraised to identify those that are methodologically sound. Articles that pass this process are rated by those with public health expertise for relevance and newsworthiness, and are then sent to this website. The articles are updated weekly and a searchable archive is kept on NCCMT’s website. Public Health+ users can sign up for e-updates that include the latest high quality and newsworthy research evidence from primary studies and systematic reviews that are relevant to public health.

Quebec Population Health Research Network (QPHRN)

The QPHRN strategic priorities include: ethics and public health; social inequalities; internet and health; knowledge exchange and more. QPHRN produces three free publications for public health practitioners. They include the PopHealth Newsletter which facilitates access to population health research; E-Watch with a focus on health innovation; and Global Health Newsletter. QPHRN also produces PopHealth Notes, a series of publications about the most cutting-edge research and scientific events in the population health field.

Health Evidence.org

This website houses a searchable compilation of quality research evidence for public health decision-makers. It contains the results of a process that includes searching, screening and rating systematic review evidence on a variety of topics. It is designed to save time by providing: public health content filtered from the literature and stored in a searchable registry; content that has been quality rated; design informed by public health decision makers across Canada; and an accompanying summary statement for each review with evidence and implications clearly spelled out in two pages.

Improved Clinical Effectiveness Through Behavioural Research Group (ICEBRG)

The KT (knowledge translation) ICEBRG group aims to systematically identify, appraise, and catalogue validated theories of individual, professional, and organizational behaviour change; conduct rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of interventions; to contribute to the implementation knowledge base by summarizing what interventions improve quality, in what contexts, and under what conditions; and more. The ICEBRG team recently conducted an environmental scan of Canada’s capacity for investigating the theory, methodologies and practice of knowledge translation. The resulting database includes an extensive list of Canadian KT Centres. Many of the centres mentioned include valuable evidence to support public health programming. ICEBRG’s own research contains documents that may help to design and implement public health interventions.

Literature search statements for the Ontario Public Health Standards

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

This webpage includes links to dozens of up-to-the-minute, dynamic literature searches generated by pre-programmed PubMed searches. Topic examples include public health interventions to prevent chronic disease, built environments to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse, increase public awareness of healthy child development, evidence-based public health, and public health program evaluation. Thirteen public health topic areas are covered, each with many more specific topic searches.

Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) Guidance documents

Designed to help Ontario public health practitioners implement their health programs and services, these guidance documents include the results of extensive literature reviews and environmental scans of existing activities across Canada and beyond. They are a wealth of information for anyone working in the areas of child health, oral health, tobacco control, healthy eating, physical activity, healthy weights, food security, prevention of injury, prevention of substance misuse, reproductive health, and school health.

Public health reviews

Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP); PHRED Program

This is a listing of all of the systematic review summaries and highlights for practitioners and managers available through the EPHPP. The PHRED program (1998-2010) contributed to health promotion, health protection and the prevention of health programs by conducting applied public health research in areas critical to effective and efficient public health practice.

Répertoire Saines habitudes de vie

[Healthy Living Directory] (French only) Provides tools, services and reference materials that promotes healthy living and contribute to the prevention of obesity-related health issues in Quebec. These materials are derived from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources including professional and other associations.

The health planners toolkit: Module 3-Evidence-based planning
Appendix E: Evidence-based clinical and public health websites

Stan Ardal et al.; Health Systems Intelligence Project; Government of Ontario

This annotated list of online resources includes sources of recommendations, guidelines, scientific evidence, and best practices.