Raegan A. Tuff, PhD, MPH

The problem of chronic diseases such as obesity in minorities, women, and adolescents is not easy to solve.  Collaboration among public health agencies is a key element in preventing and controlling disease progression.  Identifying and developing promising solutions requires thought leaders to partner across various sectors and disciplines to exchange their collective assets, resources, and knowledge.  Web-based collaboration tools have been developed to help manage partner interaction and engagement.  It is important to understand the pros and cons of the tools in supporting public health practice as well as organizational context such as capacity and readiness for implementing the tools.