After more than a year of hard work and rich discussions, I am proud to present ODP’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2024–2028, Prevention Research: Creating a Healthier Future for All. As we emphasize in the plan, to make a real difference in the health and well-being of everyone in the nation, the future of prevention research must prioritize interventions; address the most common causes of injury, illness, and death; and advance health equity. We must also set a high bar for the quality of prevention research, which serves as the basis for improving the health of all people. I invite you to explore our new plan (PDF), which outlines how the office will work to increase the scope, quality, dissemination, and impact of prevention research supported by NIH over the next five years.
To help visualize the key components of ODP’s work and demonstrate how everything we do is interconnected, our seven strategic priorities are organized in a circle in the graphic below, represented as blue segments and tied together by the five orange cross-cutting themes.
Strategic Priorities
The strategic priorities described in our new plan focus on how we can support NIH and the research community in producing the highest quality prevention science with the greatest possible impact. They leverage the tools, resources, and knowledge generated across the office and include objectives to:
- Assess the progress and impact of prevention research supported by NIH with our innovative analysis methods
- Identify unmet needs and gaps in prevention research
- Provide resources and training in research methods to enhance the rigor and reproducibility of prevention research
- Enhance coordination between our research partners to accelerate progress and translate prevention research into practice
- Facilitate tobacco regulatory science and tobacco prevention research
- Address health disparities with collaborative NIH-wide efforts to enhance prevention research and training
- Improve the availability and visibility of information about prevention research
Cross-Cutting Themes
Our five cross-cutting themes (PDF) provide areas of opportunity for complementary efforts across our strategic priorities and ODP activities:
- Risk and protective factors for illness, injury, and the leading causes of death
- Social determinants of health
- Preventive interventions
- Dissemination and implementation research
- Workforce development
Looking Ahead
ODP is committed to implementing meaningful and sustained change related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within our office and across the programs and initiatives developed through our strategic plan. We formed a working group within ODP to identify, design, and implement programs that embody the NIH Office of the Director’s dedication to promoting a culturally competent workplace that embraces the diverse communities we serve. To guide the office’s efforts, the ODP DEIA Workgroup developed the 4C’S Framework (PDF), which is informed by the NIH-Wide DEIA Plan.
ODP created our new strategic plan with significant input from our colleagues and partners across NIH, the federal government, the broader biomedical research community, and the public. We are grateful for this feedback as we refined our priorities and evaluated our role in advancing prevention research. We look forward to working together with you over the next five years to foster discovery, bridge the gap between research and practice, and create a healthier future for all.
David M. Murray, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Prevention
Director of the Office of Disease Prevention