Mapping the contribution of Allied Health Professions to the wider public health workforce : a rapid review of evidence-based interventions

Objectives: The objective was to identify a selection of the best examples of the public health contributions by Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in order to encourage a wider awareness and participation from that workforce to public health practice. Study design: A mapping exercise was used to identify evidence-based interventions that could lead to health improvements across a population. Methods: A rapid review was undertaken to identify evidence, followed by a survey of Allied Health Profession (AHP) practitioners and an expert panel consensus method to select the examples of AHP public health interventions. Results: Nine evidence-based interventions are identified and selected as examples of current AHP good practice. These examples represent a contribution to public health and include screening interventions, secondary prevention and risk management. Conclusions: This study contributes to a strategy for AHPs in public health by appraising the effectiveness and impact of some exemplar AHP practices that contribute to health improvement. There is a need for AHPs to measure the impact of their interventions and to demonstrate evidence of outcomes at population level. Keywords: allied health professions; Applied Health Professionals; evidence-based practice; health improvement; public health; rapid review