This resource highlights that public health impact requires more than knowledge and depends on essential “power skills” that turn ideas into action. It focuses on communication, systems thinking, collaboration, strategic use of data, and policy engagement as key to navigating complexity and driving meaningful change. By strengthening these skills, public health practitioners can build stronger partnerships, improve decision making, and create lasting, equitable outcomes for communities.

This report presents analyses of linked maternal and infant health records from The Louisiana Pregnancy Registry. It examines pediatric care adherence, preterm birth, and low birthweight, highlighting differences by sociodemographic and clinical factors and comparing results to national benchmarks. The findings aim to inform maternal and infant health policy and improve care quality across Louisiana.

This report synthesizes insights from the Southern Data Infrastructure webinar, co‑hosted by LPHI and the Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP), highlighting how local and regional organizations serve as essential data infrastructure. It offers guidance for funders and partners aiming to build equitable, resilient data systems across Southern communities.

Thomas Carton, PhD, MS, Chief Data and Strategy Officer at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), is a researcher on this article, published in Medical Care. It describes how PCORnet’s standardized data network and governance framework enable efficient, large‑scale clinical research by linking data across health systems and supporting diverse studies that address real‑world health questions.

This article, published in Medical Care, was authored in part by REACHnet, LPHI’s clinical research network. REACHnet serves as LPHI’s clinical research network within PCORnet®, enabling efficient, large‑scale studies that integrate patient engagement and real‑world health data to address critical health questions.

Lindsey Rudov, MS, Analyst III on the Health Services Research team at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), is a researcher on this article, published in Medical Care. The study describes how a targeted recruitment methodology that combined PCORnet® infrastructure with patient engagement strategies increased participant diversity in the Congenital Heart Initiative registry compared with traditional self‑enrollment approaches, demonstrating the value of combining data‑driven recruitment tools with meaningful patient partnership in research.