Medicine and Public Health Initiative (MPHI) in a Nutshell
Background:
MPHI is a non-profit organization that is Promoting Populations Health through Voluntary Health Profession Alliances in Education, Applied Research and Community Programs. MPHI strives to include the multiple health professions, academic and research institutions, student groups (our future manpower and leadership), Government, Business, Private, and related persons interested in health, both curative and preventive.
Dr. M. Roy Schwarz established MPHI following a talk in 1993 concerning the costly gulf between medicine and public health and the need to integrate the fields to meet current population health challenges. Subsequently, in concert with the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Public Health Association (APHA), MPHI was formally launched with a national Congress in 1996. Organizations and individuals here today were among the original participants and contributors.
Description
In 2002, several of the original members launched a Renewal of MPHI, given the new challenges to health security, and the growing awareness of globalization of health concerns and opportunities, while continuing an emphasis on national, state and community action. MPHI has become a 501 c 3 with a mission that bridges three areas:
- Education: Strengthening the Public Health workforce, academic and continuing health professions, and public education
- Applied and Translational Research: Putting evidence based results into practice
- Community and Collaborative Capacity Building Projects: Demonstrating and evaluating the MPHI approach
Illustration of Current Initiatives (partners wanted)
Education
Renew Academic Health Centers interdisciplinary training and health students participation
Undergraduate web-based course freeware in health literacy curriculum for general undergraduates initially targeted to Community Colleges
Applied and Translational Research
Heart Disease Stroke and Diabetes Network: drawing on the (US) National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke primary and secondary prevention paradigm to build a network in the US, Canada and Mexico, as well as an existing network in China, in a collaborative cross national comparison of intervention approaches
Community and Collaborative Capacity Building
China-USA MPHI established in 2004, continues to grow, and provides a potential regional base and experience to evaluate efforts across the MPHI mission spectrum.
Expanding State Initiatives: California continues as a policy forum, Arizona recently formed, and added possibilities in Florida, and Texas. Infrastructure Development.
Upgraded website: www.medph.org, to provide dissemination, and networking. In the final beta test phase of the new languages with capability of expansion to additional languages and pages assigned to participating partners or collaborations.
New partners in chronic disease, educational and research dissemination, and further providing technical assistance to organizations to expand the MPHI Network
Challenges: Great actual accomplishment and potential but challenges to raising the resources, suggestions, collaboration, and opportunities appreciated