Metrics for Healthy Communities Examples of Research Evidence

Metrics for Healthy Communities offers examples of research evidence that exist for common activities related to community health improvement. Users can link to this research evidence by clicking on "Activities" in the logic models on this site.

The citations listed are by no means a comprehensive list of existing evidence, but rather provide illustrative examples of what exists based on an initial search. Since new and revised research can emerge daily, we encourage users to treat the information as basic starting point. For some users, a quick example is all that is needed to make the case. For others who require a more comprehensive literature review, these links provide a window into further exploration.

Evidence Strength Ratings

Strong evidence: Examples cited are studies that include meta-analyses; randomized controlled trials; and quasi-experimental methods, in different contexts, that are reported in peer-reviewed journals and that support a strong relationship between a given activity and one or more outcomes in the logic model. Further research is unlikely to have an impact on the level of confidence in its effect or magnitude.

Growing evidence: Examples cited are studies that include quasi-experimental methods that are reported in peer-reviewed journals and that support a relationship between a given activity and a one or more outcomes in the logic model. Further research might have an impact on the level of confidence in its effect or magnitude.

Preliminary evidence: Examples cited include expert opinions or studies that include non-experimental study design that are reported in peer-reviewed journals and that suggest a relationship between a given activity and one or more outcomes in the logic model. Further research is likely to have an impact on the level of confidence in its effect or magnitude.

Note: These ratings are based on the academic rigor of each particular study, not the entire body of evidence on the topic. There might stronger or weaker studies available that were not reviewed by our research team.

Methods Used to Identify Research Evidence

In 2018, Wilder Research librarians searched for community health outcomes associated with each activity listed in the logic models on this site.  The search included scholarly journal article databases and the Internet for recent research (primarily within the last 10 years) that focused on the efficacy of each activity in the logic models on this site. The search was focused on the identification of high-quality research studies. A research associate reviewed each publication for proven outcomes, which included verification of existing outcomes in the logic models and the addition of any new outcomes uncovered as a result of the literature review. Each study was assigned an evidence strength rating to describe its level of academic rigor (see rating definitions above).

Due to time and budget constraints, once we identified a study that provided evidence of an activity's association with  one or more outcomes listed in a logic model—regardless of which outcomes were identified—the search for that activity was stopped. It should be noted that the search for relevant evidence was stopped regardless of the rigor of the study. Since new research evidence can emerge daily, and because our search was not exhaustive, we encourage users who want a comprehensive literature review or additional academic rigor, to perform an extensive search on their own.