Collegiate Center Summaries

Institute for Public Health Practice, Research and Policy

The Institute for Public Health Practice, Research and Policy (IPHPRP) was established in 2023 with the merger of the former Institute for Public Health Research and Policy with the Institute for Public Health Practice, the Midwestern Public Health Training Center, the Center for Public Health Statistics and the Policy Research Project formerly with the Public Policy Center. The institute is comprised of the Public Health Practice and Workforce Development Core, the Statistical/Analytics Core, and the Research and Evaluation Core. This new structure will expand support of Iowa’s public health and health care entities in population health and strategically invest available financial resources and staffing expertise to maximize the college’s impact in the practice, research, and policy arena.

The IPHPRP fosters and nurtures grassroots application of cutting edge, public health research to address grand challenges in population health. The IPHPRP serves as a catalyst and creates intellectual communities that reach across disciplinary boundaries by bringing together researchers, healthcare organizations, providers, citizens, community leaders, private partners and policy makers, to help shape and inform public health policy. By bringing together the best of what we know, the IPHPRP aims to create better population health in Iowa, and across the nation.

Public Health Practice and Workforce Development Core

Established in 1999, the Institute for Public Health Practice (IPHP) was developed as a central point of coordination for several related but distinct programs, projects, and centers, including the Midwestern Public Health Training Center. At the heart of these endeavors is the goal of enhancing the public health workforce through competency-based training and community-focused collaborations.

The institute and its centers merged with IPHPRP in 2023 to deliver training programs in collaboration with state and local public health agencies; emergency management and public safety agencies; primary care associations and their affiliated community health centers; academic partners; other health professionals; and the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa, which serves as the official state public health laboratory.

A range of services are offered including training and course development, media production and graphic design, and web development.

The Public Health Practice and Workforce Development Core currently administers the following center:

Midwest Public Health Training Center (MPHTC)

The Midwestern Public Health Training Center is one of 10 regional public health training centers located throughout the United States. The University of Iowa College of Public Health has housed a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded center since 2001. The center was previously named the Upper Midwest Public Health Training Center. MPHTC serves HRSA Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska). MPHTC works with its practice and academic partners to identify training needs and develop competency-based curriculum to meet the dynamic needs of the public health workforce. MPHTC also facilitates student placements in public health practice settings, with an emphasis on medically underserved and vulnerable populations, and faculty-student-practice partner collaborative projects.

Statistical/Analytics Core

The Center for Public Health Statistics (CPHS) was established in March 1999 under the strategic plan for the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Administratively designated as a collegiate center, the CPHS functioned collaboratively with collegiate departments and centers, university groups, and outside entities in fulfillment of its mission until it merged with the IPHPRP in 2023.

The mission of the core is to (1) collect, analyze, and disseminate public health data in relation to the research, teaching, and service missions of the College of Public Health, (2) develop collaborative relationships in the area of public health statistics, and (3) represent the College of Public Health to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) with respect to issues involving public health data.

The statistical/analytics core takes the lead for the college in producing the biennial edition of the Iowa Health Fact Book and has responsibility for the UI/Wellmark Data Repository. The Iowa Health Fact Book is a compilation of county-specific health indicators, health resources, and facts of interest to public health professionals in Iowa, produced in partnership with the IDPH. The UI/Wellmark Data Repository is a longitudinal database of administrative health insurance claim records.

They work collaboratively with the IDPH across the state on screening programs for cardiovascular disease and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer targeted to low-income Iowans. In addition, they are actively engaged in research projects in several areas of public health, providing biostatistical expertise and data analysis support.

Research and Evaluation Core

The IPHPRP Research and Evaluation Core develops and implements program evaluations to answer questions regarding their relevance and effectiveness. Our team was formerly the Policy Research Project with the Public Policy Center and has been evaluating public programs in Iowa and beyond since 1991, ranging in scale from single health centers to state-wide Medicaid. We utilize a variety of methods – from outcome analysis, to environmental scans – in an effort to attain the most comprehensive understanding possible.