Community Preventive Services Task Force Committees

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) has standing committees that work in consultation with CPSTF and are supported by CDC staff.

Annual Report to Congress (ARC) Committee

This committee conceptualizes and guides development of the Annual Report to Congress and supports its dissemination. The Annual Report to Congress satisfies the statutory requirement for “…providing yearly reports to Congress and related agencies identifying gaps in research and recommending priority areas that deserve further examination, including areas related to populations and age groups not adequately addressed by current recommendations.” The report also keeps partners and interested parties informed of recommendations and findings issued annually by CPSTF that can be put into practice in communities, businesses, healthcare systems, schools, and worksites.

Health Equity Committee

This committee is tasked with the following:

  • Defining CPSTF’s role in advancing health equity
  • Identifying and prioritizing activities to address existing or emerging health equity issues as they relate to the work of the CPSTF
  • Developing processes and guidance to implement these activities

The Health Equity Committee addresses issues that cut across all Community Guide systematic reviews. The Committee is distinct from the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Coordination Team, which conducts systematic reviews of SDOH interventions that aim to improve health outcomes.

Methods Committee

The primary goals of this committee are to:

  • Identify systematic review methods issues that necessitate a change, addition, or deletion to current Community Guide methods or processes
  • Prioritize methods issues for consideration
  • Discuss and develop method change proposals for CPSTF consideration

The committee addresses existing and emerging issues related to the Community Guide methods used to conduct systematic reviews on effectiveness and economic efficiency and translates this information into conclusions, findings, and recommendations.

Prioritization Committee

The primary goal of this committee is to set priorities for CPSTF regarding the selection of topics and intervention approaches for systematic reviews of effectiveness and economic evidence. The committee ensures proposals are consistent with current priority topics and provides oversight for the topic selection process that occurs every five years.