In 2010, NACDD helped to expand the national evidence-based public health (EBPH) training by funding a state-based, train-the-trainer course to build EBPH capacity within health departments in states where training takes place and to leverage local expertise to train partners and co-workers. The national EBPH course, offered multiple times since NACDD began funding it in 2000, shows positive benefits for participants. A survey of chronic disease practitioners who attended a state-led EBPH course shows encouraging results for this course delivery method, as follows:

• 88 percent of participants said they had acquired knowledge about a new subject
• 85 percent of participants saw applications for course knowledge in their work
• 79 percent of participants reported becoming a better leader who promotes evidence-based decision making
• 78 percent of participants agreed that the course improved their abilities to make scientifically informed decisions at work.

Consistent with other evaluations of EBPH training, the most commonly reported reasons for not using course content as much as intended included not having enough time, lack of trained peers, and inadequate funding. These results suggest that the train-the-trainer method is effective for broadly disseminating EBPH principles. It is less costly than the traditional method and allows for tailoring courses to local needs, making it a viable approach to dissemination and scale up of new public health practices.

For more on the findings, read the article, “Evaluating a Train-the-Trainer Approach for Improving Capacity for Evidence-based Decision Making in Public Health.”