2010 International Society for Urban Health Board Elections

Candidate for Member at Large

Patricia O'Campo

In my current position I hold the Alma and Baxter Ricard Chair in Inner City Health and am Director of the Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. I am also Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto and Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I am a social epidemiologist and have been conducting policy relevant and community partnered research in urban settings on the social determinants of health and well-being among women and children for over 23 years.

The International Society of Urban Healthy has grown tremendously over the past eight years from a small organization mainly focused on North America to one that is making its presence felt in multiple continents globally. As someone who has been an active member of the ISUH since 2004*President, Secretary and Chair of the 2005 Annual meeting*I have had the privilege of steering the ISUH through many of its recent accomplishments. Indeed, I articulated the need to ensure that ISUH had a stronger international presence two years ago when I ran as Secretary.

While we have begun to achieve this goal, we need to ensure that the Society continues in this direction. Another area that requires greater attention by the Society is the need for a greater focus on the solutions to urban health problems. Specifically, ISUH should welcome greater participation of non-academic participants such as policy makers and community organizations to showcase successful programs and policies that make positive impacts on urban problems. My goal will be to create an environment where ISUH supports diverse disciplines and academic and non-academic stakeholders to address the most pressing problems facing urban communities globally.

Given my involvement in ISUH to date, I have a solid understanding of the strengths and challenges of the society. This provides a strong foundation from which to continue my involvement as Member-at-Large.

Thank you for your continued support.

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