Publication output in the field of Public Health and its appreciation at political level in Austria.

In a pilot study, we aimed to identify the output of public health research by Austrian university and non-university research institutions and compare it with its translation into Austrian public health policy. A keyword search in PubMed was conducted for the period 2000 to 2013. The 'Public Health Newsletter' published by the Austrian Ministry of Health and the 'Health Reform Law 2013' were used as surrogate indicators for the translation of research into public health policy.A total of 97 publications in peer-reviewed journals showed a wide variation in topics. Comparing the research topics with the articles of the 'Public Health Newsletter', we found identity in the field of communicable diseases. The Health Reform Law 2013 confirms the importance of evidence-based decision-making; yet, it contains no direct mentioning of or relation to research results. Based on our methodology, moderate appreciation of research results at the political level could be found in Austria.