Results at a Glance - Evaluation of the Evidence for Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Program: Focus on COVID-19 Activities

Program Overview

The Evidence for Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Program (Evidence Program), situated within the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDPB), is an important player in improving the understanding of the wider impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on various groups.
The COVID-19 response has been an all-Agency effort, including branches like HPCDPB, who typically haven't been directly associated with emergency responses. Since February 2020, the Evidence Program pivoted its activities to address the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included adapting existing surveillance tools to collect relevant data, as well as supporting with the dissemination of COVID related data.

Evaluation Approach

This evaluation examined the performance of the Evidence Program as it relates to its COVID-19 pandemic activities from January 2020 to March 2021.

The following elements made up the evaluation approach:

• Document and file review
• Key informant interviews
• Literature Review
• Data analysis

What the Evaluation Found

Between January 2020 and March 2021, the Evidence Program, led by the Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research (CSAR), supported PHAC's pandemic efforts by collecting data to fill existing gaps on the wider impacts of COVID-19 and providing senior management with timely information. More specifically, the Evidence Program pivoted its activities to support the ongoing pandemic response by conducting an early and ongoing prioritization exercise adjusting work activities in the following ways:

• Identifying projects to be continued, postponed, or discontinued based on COVID-19 evidence needs, legislative requirements, mandate commitments and Agency priorities.
• Adapting existing surveillance tools to collect relevant data on the wider impacts of COVID-19 by broadening data sources and indicators, as well as gathering new evidence to inform how COVID-19 affected the concurrent opioids crisis.
• Working with long-standing data providers, and partners to increase data reporting frequency, launch new surveys, and support new research on COVID-19 and comorbidities to address evidence gaps priorities.

The Evidence Program also implemented a "fast track" model to improve timeliness of publication of COVID-19 related peer-reviewed articles in its HPCDP Journal. Furthermore, it provided its Infobase platform in support of data dissemination related to COVID19 cases, and vaccine coverage data (with daily or weekly updates).

CSAR also supported the pandemic response through the deployment of over 28 staff members (approximately 30% of the staff), including epidemiologists and large data analysts, in long-term assignments to support various functions with the COVID-19 response, particularly in relation to the vaccine roll-out efforts.

Challenges faced by the Evidence Program and considerations for the future identified by the evaluation were:

• Difficulties related to rapid funding of key research, which affected the timeliness and relevance of information provided.
• Challenges inherent to national surveillance data production, including: 1. Data gaps, particularly in terms of vulnerable populations and longitudinal data; and 2. Timeliness of information, as surveillance data often becomes available only months after the events themselves, limiting the information available for decision makers.
• As the Program continues with its research and surveillance agenda on the wider impacts of the pandemic, it will be important to seize opportunities to increase availability and timeliness of evidence information while linking it with policy actions to inform recovery activities, especially as it relates to vulnerable populations.
• The need to explore alternative ways to fill data gaps, such as models and event-based surveillance. This will help capture more comprehensive information and assist in providing clearer linkages between research and policy implications.

Recommendations

• Implement consistent practices to link research with policy implications.

  Response: The Program will conduct a scan of examples where successful linkages have been made between its evidence and policy. It will then engage with PHAC corporate surveillance and strategic policy partners to advance a knowledge mobilization work plan that collaboratively addresses horizontal considerations and common interests linked to evidence-policy integration.

• Explore ways to integrate alternative sources of data for evidence products to improve timeliness of information and compensate for traditional national surveillance data gaps.

  Response: The Program will develop a case study document that identifies how it uses alternative data sources, and then engage with Agency stakeholders to support corporate development of tools and guidance for continued and optimal use of such data sources.

• Considering the success of Infobase during COVID-19 and its continued need, establish a plan for the future of the platform.

  Response: The Program will develop a set of options to strengthen and enhance Infobase capacity and governance, in collaboration with CDSB and other key stakeholders.