Evidence-based practice (EBP) in the field of health care has occupied a central place in recent years, being the basis of the activities of organizations. One of the preconditions for this was the adoption of the Affordable Care Act (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2023). As a result, many organizations have begun to implement the principles of EBP in their activities, in particular when formulating their mission, vision, and philosophy. This paper aims to analyze the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine its core business principles and their alignment with the EBP.
In formulating their missions and visions, the CDC was obviously based on the core principles of the EBP. The CDC states that its mission is “to protect America from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S.” (About CDC, 2022, para. 1). At the same time, the organization emphasizes the importance of using scientific data to ensure the protection of the population.
The CDC achieves its stated mission by “conducting critical science and providing health information” (About CDC, 2022, para. 2). This information and research data are publicly available on the organization’s website. It includes epidemiological data, research reports, and evidence-based health recommendations. Moreover, all data is regularly updated, which ensures the relevance of the information.
Another important factor is that the activities of the CDC are based on the joint activities of various specialists. According to Boller (2017), collaborative activity is the most important factor for improving health care and health outcomes (p. 708). This approach provides greater effectiveness of the actions taken and a greater positive impact on public health.
In addition, the CDC adheres to the principles of transparency and credibility of the information provided (About CDC, 2022). In a timely manner, CDC initiates the necessary studies for the subsequent dissemination of information about their results. This positively affects both the quality of health care services received by patients and the overall national level of health.
References
About CDC. (2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Boller, J. (2017). Nurse educators: Leading health care to the quadruple aim sweet spot. Journal of Nursing Education, 56(12), 707–708.
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2023). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.