Running head: Making decisions based on evidence
Kevin L. George
Ottawa University
OAD 30063 Behavior in Organizations
Bryan Forsyth
01-September 2013
In the article, the authors have brought to light valuable tools that are applicable in the study of evidence-based public health. The exploration of these tools has thus helped to explain how use of scientific evidence has had an impact on health issues that we face daily. The health impact assessment approach has been highlighted in this article as a tool to determine the burden of health in a population. Besides bringing to light the underlying causes of disease in a population, this tool will also enable an exploration of disparities in health, observed across populations (Fielding & Briss, 2006). By a modification of the social, economic and physical environments that helps to determine the health of a population, there could be an improvement in the diseased population.
In itself, the health impact assessment programme enables the evaluation of projects and programs, to see the effects they have had on a given population, in a wide variety of sectors. Further, this tool can also find wide application at the community level to reduce negative health impacts of a project (Zwi & Bowen, 2005). More so, impact health assessment finds application in the implementation of health policies. Another tool that has also been highlighted by the article is use of systematic reviews. This tool is a process that sums up scientific evidence, and then tries to relate it with health practices and policy recommendations. The idea is to aid in transparency and credibility of the decisions that will be arrived at by both the health practitioners, as well as the policy makers. Finally, the articles offers a portfolio of tools that makes it possible determine whether or not a policy, or a health intervention initiative for that matter, will be...