For the first time, the Prevention Research Center (PRC) at Washington University in St. Louis has taken its signature Evidence-Based Public Health training program (EBPH) to a U.S. territory. This summer, the EBPH faculty delivered the course over three and half days in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The EBPH program has been a cornerstone of the PRC’s work for more than two decades, reaching over 4,000 public health practitioners who have taken the course online or in person. Built around 10 interactive modules, the training mirrors many of the core elements of a master of public health curriculum while emphasizing practical tools that apply directly to the field. The program helps public health workers define problems, prioritize issues, evaluate programs and demonstrate return on investment.
This work matters because only 14% of the U.S. public health workforce holds a public health degree. Many professionals enter the field from other disciplines and may lack systematic training in evidence-based methods.
“We’ve designed this course to equip practitioners with competencies they can use right away — systems thinking to address complex problems, communication skills to turn scientific data into real-world narratives and resilience to weather uncertainty,” said Ross C. Brownson, the Steven H. and Susan U. Lipstein Distinguished Professor at the School of Public Health and PRC director. “It’s about giving frontline program implementers the confidence and capacity to apply evidence-based practices that improve health outcomes.”