The Presidents of the University of Windsor and Wayne State University recently came together with the mayor of Windsor, Mr. Eddie Francis, to discuss an international collaborative project, known as the North American Public Health Institute (NAPHI), which the two universities are creating to address public health issues.

Two years ago, the vice presidents for research at these two institutions met with 150 faculty at both universities to gather ideas on ways the two could work together on a unique, cross-border comparative research project in public health. No other international cities in the world located on a common international water border just a few miles apart have a shared environment, resources, urban health problems and need for protection from bioterrorist threats, yet have very different healthcare policies and delivery systems.

Detroit and Windsor have a great public health burden than other areas of Michigan and Ontario. In 2003, the Detroit Health Care Stabilization Workgroup reported that Detroit’s population has sharply higher rates of illness, severity and mortality than the rest of the state. Similarly, the 2001 Community Health Profile of Windsor reports that mortality and morbidity rates were higher there than in the rest of province.

Currently, groups of researchers at both institutions are developing collaborative projects focusing on:

• The cause of variations in vaccination rates between Canada and the U.S. and strategies for improvement;
• The impact of gambling addiction on finances and society;
• The victimization and assault perpetration on women;
• The examination of how educational systems relates to child health outcomes, particularly childhood obesity;
• The relationship of land use to health outcomes; and more.

This new North American Public Health Institute will continue to expand research programs, and begin a more formal directorship and administrative staff to further edevelop a formal research agenda for the Institute. U.S. and Canadian grants will be sought to fund various research projects. For further information about NAPHI, visit http://www.research.wayne.edu/naphi/.