POLICY RESEARCH FOR DISEASE PREVENTION - CHALLENGES AND PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Policy approaches to health promotion and disease prevention hold grea t potential, as several community-based projects have illustrated. Pol icy interventions, despite their wide-spread, frequently lack a system atic framework for implementation and evaluation. The authors propose a four-stage framework for the formation and evaluation of public heal th policy. The stages are identification of health risk and preventive options; intervention development; policy development; and policy ena ctment and assurance. A strong focus on evaluation is included within the framwork. In addition, a series of practical implications and reco mmendations are given under the broad headings of evaluation issues an d linkages. It is hoped hoped that the issues described will lead to m ore systematic implementation and evaluation of public health policy m easures.