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Office of Science and Data Policy (SDP)

The Office of Science and Data Policy is the departmental focal point for policy research, analysis, evaluation, and coordination of department-wide public health science policy and data policy activities and issues. The Office provides authoritative advice and analytical support to the ASPE and departmental leadership on public health science policy and data policy issues and initiatives, coordinates science and data policy issues of interagency scope within HHS, and manages interagency initiatives in science policy and data policy. The Office works closely with staff from across the Department on strategic plan development and implementation efforts. The Offices also carries out a program of policy research, analysis, evaluation, and data development in these issues.

The Office of Science and Data Policy includes several components:

Topic Areas:

  • HHS Data Council
  • Regulatory Impact Analysis
  • Strategic Planning
  • Information Quality Guidelines
  • Prevention and wellness
  • Public health systems and functions
  • Food safety and nutrition
  • Drugs and devices
  • Tobacco control and prevention
  • Biomedical research and development
  • Economic analysis
  • Emergency preparedness, response, and recovery
  • Data and statistical policy
  • Health disparities and vulnerable populations
  • Health information technology
  • Microsimulation
  • Privacy policy

Reports

Displaying 1 - 10 of 179. 10 per page. Page 1.

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ASPE Issue Brief

Novel Antimicrobial Drug Development and Access: U.S. Government Support and Opportunities

The pipeline and commercial market for novel antimicrobial drugs is insufficient to address current and future patient needs or mitigate the loss of effective treatments as antimicrobial resistance spreads. The U.S. Government implements a range of efforts to ensure sustainable availability of antimicrobial treatments, supporting research, product development, and appropriate use.
Report

Developing and Piloting a Federal Evaluation Approach for Complex Cross-Agency Initiatives: The Overdose Prevention Test Case

The final summary report on “Developing and Piloting a Federal Evaluation Approach for Complex Cross-Agency Initiatives: The Overdose Prevention Test Case” lays out the findings of HHS effort to test a cross-departmental methodology.
Report

Guidance on Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Rulemakings of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This guidance, originally published in 2003, contains the following introduction:
ASPE Issue Brief

Participant Diversity by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex in Rare Disease Clinical Trials: A Case Study of Eight Rare Cancers

Rare cancer clinical trials appear to enroll less diverse participants than clinical trials more broadly and therefore may require additional considerations or unique solutions to diversify participant recruitment. These differences persisted within both NIH and non-NIH funded trials.
Report

Impact of Climate Change on Health and Drug Demand

It is anticipated that extreme weather events due to climate change will increase the prevalence of a number of acute and chronic diseases. As a result, the demand for drugs to prevent or treat those conditions is likely to increase.
Report

Drug Development

The cost of bringing a medical product to the U.S. market has been increasing and clinical trials constitute a large portion of these costs. In drug development, the clinical phase lasts an average of around 95 months compared to 31 months for the non-clinical phase and accounts for 69 percent of overall R&D costs (DiMasi, et al., 2016).
Report

Knowledge Dissemination Among State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Agencies Through Communities of Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) released a report summarizing lessons learned from using communities of practice (CoPs) to support state, Tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) public health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Environmental Scan, Report

Best Practices for COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), in partnership with Mathematica, are conducting a comprehensive study to identify promising practices aimed at reducing disparities in COVID-19 vaccination and testing, and policy options to promote equitable, routine vaccination.
Report

Measuring Preparedness for Public Health and Health Care Emergencies: The Current State of Preparedness Metrics in the United States and Considerations for the Future

To help the federal government and STLT jurisdictions better prepare for emergencies, there is a need to understand how prepared different jurisdictions are for various emergencies. However, assessing whether a jurisdiction is prepared for different emergencies is inherently complex and there is a lack of consensus among practitioners and scholars on how to approach preparedness measurement.
Research Summary

FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation Reduced Late-Stage Drug Development Time

This landing page presents the abstract of a paper published in Health Affairs. The full text of the article is available at: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00837.