The Value and Impacts of Academic Public Health Departments

Abstract

The academic health department (AHD) is a partnership between an academic institution and a governmental health agency. These partnerships are meant to provide mutual benefits that include opportunities for student field placements and internships, practice-informed curriculum, and practice-based research. The term academic health department dates back only to 2000, although there are several examples of academic–practice partnerships prior to that date. In addition to AHDs that have been established over the past two decades, other forms of academic–practice engagement provide similar mutual benefits, such as prevention research centers and public health training centers. Current research on AHDs explores how these partnerships matter regarding the outputs, outcomes, and impacts of the units that comprise them. This review also considers the most recent perspectives on how AHDs have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and how they might advance public health's efforts to address structural racism and promote health equity.