Expanding Opportunities for Data Dissemination Through Collaborative Writing Teams in Public Health Practice Settings

Abstract

Government health departments at all levels make meaningful contributions to advancing the public health of communities, yet state health departments lack the time and infrastructure to share their findings with the broader scientific community. To address this gap in data dissemination, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control developed a “collaborative writing team” (CWT) pilot. As part of this pilot program, teams of staff members leveraged existing data to advance the public health knowledge base, with an emphasis on public health practice. The six steps of the CWT included (1) identify team members’ skills/strengths, (2) discuss available data, (3) determine opportunities to share data, (4) divide responsibilities based on team members’ strengths, (5) write and submit product, and (6) debrief. Between December 2019 and November 2020, the team had six abstracts accepted to two national conferences, one abstract accepted to a state public health conference, and one editorial published in a peer-reviewed journal. Feedback from participants indicated that self-efficacy in areas including writing, project facilitation, and analysis had increased among team. CWTs are a framework for people working within public health practice settings to disseminate findings.