work with the goal of providing more detailed information on the needs of
public health professionals. Specifically, we aimed to provide a more focused and descriptive analysis than has previously been available on the nature of questions submitted to the Network, the manner in which requests
are resolved and the types of public health entities which ask for assistance.
We reviewed and analyzed a sample of requests for technical assistance
submitted to the Network using qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques and identified several trends in requests across topical, geographic
and jurisdictional factors.
IV. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
The initial study data originates from the Network’s database on all re-
quests for legal technical assistance that were logged between September
21, 201013 and December 5, 2013. This sample of 1477 requests was further
refined to isolate only those requests from individuals working most direct-
ly on public health initiatives which, for the purposes of this study, we de-
fined as individuals working at government entities. The final sample of
504 requests submitted by government employees was then prepared for
analysis: the data set was scrubbed of inaccurate or duplicate information,
key data points were updated as much as possible to ensure that near-
comprehensive data was available for analysis, and new information was
added to the data set. Finally, the sample was analyzed in order to identify
potential trends.
The following sections provide greater detail on the processes of adding
additional information to the data set and analyzing the sample for trends.
A. Adding Information on Types of Government Entities which Requested
Assistance
We developed and applied an additional data point – entity type – in or-
der to further describe the government entity from which each request with-
in the final sample originated. We developed the values for this data point
through a review of all 504 requests. As we reviewed requests, we catego-
rized each one with an entity type, by either creating a new value or apply-
ing a relevant value that was previously created to categorize another re-
quest. We decided how to categorize each request through an assessment of
the jurisdiction, structure and purpose/function of the requester’s listed em-
ployer.
13. This date denotes the first request for legal technical assistance received by the
Network – thus, the study period comprises all Network requests submitted as of December
5, 2013.
