PAHO, Forum to collaborate on public health initiatives

November 17, 2009 – The McMaster Health Forum has undertaken a new initiative with an international organization that works to improve public health in the countries of the Americas.

A memorandum of understanding between the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and McMaster University will see the Forum, with the support of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, collaborate with PAHO in various ways to strengthen capacities and technical co-operation for knowledge translation in public health.

PAHO is a specialized agency for public health of the Inter American System and the regional office for the Americas of the World Health Organization. It has earned international recognition as a specialized public health agency of the United Nations. In this role, PAHO promotes and co-ordinates efforts of the countries of the Western Hemisphere to combat disease, lengthen life and contribute to the physical and mental health of citizens. Canada is a member state of PAHO.

The Forum — a cross-university initiative that extends McMaster’s global reputation from evidence-based medicine to evidence-informed health systems, and from problem-based learning to collective problem-solving — and PAHO will co-ordinate activities in several areas of common interest.

The two groups plan to co-operate on initiatives such as organizing stakeholder dialogues about pressing health challenges in the region, setting up internships, practicums, workshops and other skills-building activities in support of knowledge translation in public health for future leaders, and contributing towards institutional strengthening within PAHO member states for better system-wide knowledge translation within national health research systems. This collaboration will contribute towards implementing PAHO’s Policy on Research for Health, approved by PAHO Member States in September 2009.

They will also work jointly towards the integration of research databases in PAHO’s Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME), and collaborate in the development and dissemination of publications relevant to knowledge translation in public health.