Ten years of Public Health Research & Practice

This special collection of papers celebrates the first 10 years of publication of Public Health Research & Practice (PHRP). Building on the 25-year heritage of the New South Wales (NSW) Public Health Bulletin, the first edition of the Journal was published in 2014 by the Sax Institute with Professor Sally Redman as Editor-in-Chief (2014–2016). The Sax Institute continues its ownership and strong support for the Journal now that publication is managed by CSIRO Publishing.

PHRP was established with the ambition of strengthening the connection between public health research, policy and practice. Over the past 10 years, it has published close to 500 papers, several of which have become highly cited and helped the journal achieve and maintain a strong, internationally competitive citation index score. Importantly, many of the papers have provided evidence and supported advocacy for change in policy and practice across a wide range of critical public health issues, most notably informing our understanding of and response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and internationally^1–5. These five COVID papers are all in the top 12 most highly cited papers for the journal.

The Journal has deep roots in public health in Australia, but today has a growing proportion of international subscribers, readers and contributors, with almost 50% of our readers from outside of Australia. While a majority of our publications draw on experiences from Australia, we give preference to publishing papers from Australia that have international significance alongside international papers with Australian relevance and potential application. This special collection offers reflections from our Editorial Board members and other invited experts on several critical public health issues from the past 10 years while also looking to future opportunities and challenges.

We wanted to ensure that the central role of prevention in public health research and practice was fully reflected in this special collection and are pleased to present a series of papers coordinated by Associate Editor, Ben Smith. In the first summary paper, he draws our attention to a perennial problem of the public commitment to prevention policies and programs from governments (in Australia and around the world), not being matched by a corresponding commitment to implementation.⁶ He draws attention to ‘the essential enablers of successful implementation, namely governance, organisation and investment’.

The three additional contributions to this series are highly complementary. The second, by Khwanruethai Ngampromwong and Alana Gall – both First Nations public health professionals – critically examines the shortcomings of Australian national policy on prevention in addressing the structural determinants of health inequities affecting Australian First Nations peoples.⁷ They specifically emphasise the enduring impacts of colonisation, systemic racism, and intergenerational trauma. They recognise that enduring progress ‘requires a fundamental shift – one that centres First Nations self-determination; embeds our ways of knowing, being, and healing; and invests in community-led solutions’ making a series of recommendations for policymakers ‘grounded in structural reform and driven by the urgent need for systems transformation led by, and accountable to, First Nations peoples’.

The third, authored by Associate Editor Mark Harris, draws our attention to the great potential for advancing prevention through primary care.⁸ He highlights the importance of extensions to the roles of the primary care team and the use of digital health innovations in prevention but laments the financial and practical barriers that still exist to the systemic adoption of successful evidence-based interventions in primary care.

The fourth paper by Associate Editor Becky Freeman reflects on Australia’s continuing international leadership in tobacco control during a period when the tobacco industry has actively sought to develop and promote a range of new products, most obviously reflected in the increase in the availability and use of vapes.⁹ She describes the Australian Government’s world-first legislation placing strict controls on where vapes can be sold. Professor Freeman bemoans the fact that strict controls on the supply of vapes are not matched by comparable controls on the supply of cigarettes. She highlights that it is ‘increasingly intolerable to continue selling such highly addictive and deadly products alongside everyday groceries and household goods’.

As well as emphasising important priorities in prevention, this special collection also offers some reflections on lessons learned in the monitoring and management of the COVID-19 pandemic by Editorial Board member Catherine Bennett, and Meru Sheel. Their paper is critical of the fact that Australia’s disease surveillance capacity was not fit for monitoring and managing a pandemic, highlighting a reliance on basic descriptive epidemiology, urban-focused population-level modelling, and data insights imported from other countries as the basis for decision-making throughout the pandemic.¹⁰ They advocate for future investment in, and a more coordinated approach to managing the surveillance data needed for tracking disease transmission and the degree of control achieved; and to improved public communication to ‘build and maintain public confidence and trust in public health decisions during uncertain times’.

Looking to the future, three papers in this special collection look at the evolution of the concept of planetary health; the potential and challenges of artificial intelligence in public health, and the future training of the public health workforce. Associate Editor Angie Bone and colleagues examine both the concept of planetary health and its application in public health practice, reminding us that adopting a planetary health approach ‘requires us to rethink dominant perspectives about how we feed, move, house, power and care for the world, as well as the implications for wellbeing and equity across generations and locations’.¹¹ The paper by Editor-in-Chief, Don Nutbeam and Editorial Board member Andrew Milat highlights the potential and challenges associated with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and technologies for public health.¹² They express concern that current advocacy for the use of AI technologies and platforms is ahead of the scientific evidence supporting their safe and equitable use; and encourage ‘more systemic, critical evaluation of AI applications and their practical uses, transparency in their impact on equity, and public accountability for ethical use of these technologies across different populations and settings’. And finally, Priscilla Robinson and Editorial Board member Vivian Lin offer a critical reflection on whether our current training programs preparing the next generation of public health professionals are fit for purpose.¹³ Their analysis offers a sobering appraisal of the current situation, highlighting how recent emergencies, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, have demonstrated shortcomings in the volume and quality of qualified public health staff. They advocate for greater structure and oversight of public health training, specifically that university public health courses should be independently accredited ‘to include appropriate competency-based theory and practice to prepare a future-proofed, internationally relevant workforce’.

Taken as a whole, this collection of papers provides both a reflection on progress from the past 10 years since the first publication of Public Health Research & Practice, as well as a critical appraisal of the challenges of the future. It remains the Journal’s primary ambition to publish papers that connect evidence to policy and practice.

Finally, I would like to use this opportunity to acknowledge the important work of our Editorial Board and Journal Editors. We have been fortunate to be supported by a team of highly distinguished Editorial Board members who, individually and collectively, have set and maintained the highest academic standards for the Journal. Their continued service to the Journal and commitment to developing and upholding the editorial policies of the Journal have been key to our success over this past decade. As Editor-in-Chief, I am especially grateful to all those who have served in the demanding role of Associate Editor over these 10 years. Somewhat behind the scenes, the Journal has been well served by its Editors, Anne Messenger, Nyssa Skilton and Megan Howe, and in more recent times as we have managed the transition to publication by CSIRO Publishing, by Deputy Editor, Asiyah Pascoe. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the contribution that hundreds of colleagues have made to the success of the Journal by being willing to act as peer reviewers. Peer review remains a cornerstone of academic quality and integrity and relies on the goodwill of so many in our academic community.

Don Nutbeam

Editor in Chief