The
infraNET Project and
Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research
University of Waterloo
present ...
"Why Not Evidence-based Health
Policies for Nations?
The Case for Global Tobacco Control."
by
Geoffrey T. Fong
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology &
Department of Health Studies and Gerontology
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Davis Centre, Room 1302
University of Waterloo
Seminar Series Sponsors
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
McKesson Information Solutions - Smart Systems for Health Agency
Healthcare Information Management and Communications Canada
Abstract
Despite the threat that infectious diseases may pose for global
health (e.g., avian flu), the greatest persistent challenge to global
health is from chronic diseases. A recent World Health Organization
report shines the spotlight on the threat of chronic diseases
(responsible for 35M out of 58M total deaths in 2005) and on the myths
about chronic diseases (contrary to belief, the overwhelming majority
of chronic diseases occur in low- and middle-income countries).
Population health interventions and policies are the only effective
means for fighting the epidemic of chronic diseases, but to date,
there is virtually no evidence base to guide countries in selecting
and implementing such population level methods. The recent global
response to the tobacco epidemic, however, provides a model for the
creation of evidence-based policies and programs for population health promotion.
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the first-ever international
health treaty and represents an unprecedented collaborative global approach
to reducing tobacco use. I will describe the International Tobacco Control
Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project), a collaboration of over 60 researchers
across 14 countries, who are conducting parallel national studies to evaluate
the impact of FCTC policies in order to form the evidence base for the FCTC
and to promote evidence-based implementation of FCTC policies..
About the Speaker
Geoffrey T. Fong, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of
Psychology and Department of Health Studies and Gerontology,
University of Waterloo, Affiliated Scientist, Centre for Behavioural
Research and Program Evaluation of the National Cancer Institute of
Canada/Canadian Cancer Society, and Co-Investigator, Ontario Tobacco
Research Unit. Dr. Fong is Founder and a Principal Investigator of the
ITC Project. Dr. Fong has also conducted research on the effects of
alcohol intoxication on risky health behaviours (e.g., risky sex), and
on the creation, implementation, and evaluation of behavioural interventions
to reduce HIV/STD risk among inner-city adolescents. He received his
AB in psychology from Stanford University and his PhD in social
psychology from the University of Michigan and has held faculty
positions at Northwestern University and Princeton University. Among
his awards, Dr. Fong received the University of Waterloo s
Distinguished Teaching Award in 1999.
For more information
Shirley Fenton
Managing Director, WIHIR
University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4074
Seminar Hosts
This seminar is hosted by the Waterloo Institute for Health
Informatics Research (WIHIR) and The infraNET Project, University of Waterloo.
The infraNET Project, initiated by the University of Waterloo in
1996, is a partnership to advance Web and Internet technologies. Its founding
partners were: LivePage (now part of Oracle), MKS, Open Text, RIM,
Sybase (Waterloo) and Waterloo Maple.
We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Institute for
Computer Research, University of Waterloo.
