North American Public Health Institute    

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Celebrating collaboration: Researchers and administrators from the University of Windsor and Wayne State University discussed current joint projects and ways to deepen and broaden partnerships at a special session on January 19. From left to right: Michael Salter, coordinator of international liaiason; Nancy Christ, Wayne State's director for research collaborations; Gloria Heppner, Wayne State's interim vice president research; Nihar Biswas, acting vice-president research; provost Neil Gold.

Background

Wayne State University is a national research university with an urban teaching and service mission. Wayne State is a key partner in metropolitan Detroit’s educational, cultural, and economic landscape, and includes a 43-acre research and technology park. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and throughout the world.

Wayne State is Michigan’s only urban research university. Located in the heart of the city of Detroit , Wayne State University makes a special commitment to the Detroit metropolitan area to focus research on urban populations and their related health issues. This urban health research mission is carried out through the many Centers, Institutes and multidisciplinary research groups at Wayne State University.

The University of Windsor is widely known and respected as a comprehensive research institution with an established record of prominence in both pinnacle research strengths and emerging areas of research. Health research at the University of Windsor has evolved from existing strengths in biochemistry, biotechnology, biology, sociology and psychology, and through the increasing synergies between researchers and community partners. The university strives to enhance its research profile by building international components into its research agenda. Public health research at the University of Windsor includes studies funded by the Canadian National Health Research and Development Program, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the International Development Research Centre.

Recent History

Detroit and Windsor represent countries with similar public health issues but with very different healthcare delivery systems and public health policies. With a common border, shared environment, shared resources and shared risk from, for example, bioterrorist threat, a Detroit–Windsor research collaboration focused on public health issues makes sense.

In 2005 the Vice Presidents for Research at the University of Windsor (UW) and Wayne State University (WSU) agreed to develop a collaborative program for international public health research that would focus on urban health problems such as those found in Windsor and Detroit, as well as create opportunities for cross border comparative research into public health problems. Since 2005 Wayne State University and the University of Windsor have hosted several meetings for faculty members who want to collaborate on cross border research. More than 150 faculty members from both institutions have attended these meetings.

Current Status

Public health agencies increasingly rely on scientific evidence for solutions to issues of health promotion and disease prevention and control. Some success has already been achieved in developing multidisciplinary health research teams within Wayne State University and the University of Windsor, and collaborative teams between the universities. Currently, WSU and UW conduct public health research through various groups, centers and institutes, including:

• The WSU-UW Vaccination Research Group, which investigates the cause for variations in vaccination rates between Canada and the US, and strategies for improvement;
• The WSU-UW Gambling Research Group, which looks at gambling addiction on both sides of the Detroit River and its financial and social impact;
• The WSU-UW Women and Violence Research Group, which focuses on sexual assault perpetration and victimizatio n;
• The WSU-UW Childhood Obesity Research Group, which examines large educational systems as they relate to child health outcomes ;
• The WSU-UW Public Health Mapping Group, which relates land use to health outcomes;
• The WSU-UW Language and Communication in Health Research Group, which studies language and communication for multilingual, multicultural patients and providers;
• The WSU-UW Workplace Safety Research Group, which looks at issues of occupational health and safety;
• The WSU-Henry Ford Health System INPHAASE program, which funds research devoted to understanding the biological and social bases for health disparities among populations of differing demographics and to testing alternative strategies to overcome the reasons for these disparities. The core of INPHAASE research is directed toward the problems of disease prevention and management and health promotion in large urban areas;
• WSU’s Center for Urban and African American Health, which focuses on disparities in health outcomes for cardiovascular disease and cancer in urban populations;
• WSU’s Center for Health Research which targets urban health and self-care;
• WSU’s Karmanos Cancer Institute, which investigates cancer outcomes in various racial and ethnic study populations;
• UW’s Health Research Group, which fosters collaborative interactions among the 40 or so researchers at the University of Windsor involved in diverse aspects of health research. Research focus areas include Health Services and Policy Research, Infection and Immunity, Population and Public Health, Gender and Health, Cancer Research, Circulatory and Respiratory Health.

Issues of ethnic based disparities in health outcomes, of chronic disease detection and control, of effective healthcare delivery, of community based health promotion, and of protection from bioterrorist threats are ideally addressed by developing solutions based on comparing approaches and results from differing health systems.

Vision

Detroit and Windsor represent countries with very different healthcare delivery systems and public health policies. An international collaboration to compare and study health outcomes will uncover new approaches can lead the way to solutions not only in the United States and Canada but in other countries where poverty or ignorance provide constant challenges to health promotion and disease control.

Our vision:

• The International Public Health Research Partnership will provide leadership and support for cross border public health research.

• The International Public Health Research Partnership will provide an environment in which the latest human and technological resources are available to investigate and develop solutions to public health issues.

• The International Public Health Research Partnership will serve as the premier international public health research institute for Michigan and Ontario, and will lead the community in public health research, education and training.

The implications of international public health research and disease prevention are especially significant for Detroit where, as reported in 2003 by the Detroit Health Care Stabilization Group, the population has sharply higher rates of illness, severity, and mortality than the rest of the State.