Two UofT Health Powerhouses Unite to make a Greater Collective Impact on Public Health

Effective as of July 1, 2014, the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation’s home faculty has shifted from the Faculty of Medicine to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.  This transition creates one of the world’s largest public health schools with a shared vision of improving health and health systems.

With a remarkably broad scope and unique inter-disciplinary nature, the School will have some of the strongest connections across disciplines and faculties of any public health school in the world. By working together, the School will explore questions and interconnections in clinical policy, including: how (and what) care should be delivered, health system policy (how should care and other services be organized), population health policy (how to elevate overall health and the broader determinants of health), and health system design.

“Together, we are addressing critical issues that touch health systems around the world and provide scholarly leadership and innovative research in sustainability, population health, health systems, and the experience of patients, families and providers — a feat that we could not accomplish, as effectively, independently,” said Howard Hu, Dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

The Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation’s (IHPME) transition into the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH), which became a standalone Faculty on July 1, 2013, allows the united School to achieve a broader collective impact. Working collaboratively, the School will have a more direct impact on health at the medical, policy, community, individual and system levels.  For example, the School will train systems change professionals — an area with huge growth opportunities in Ontario, nationally (particularly in Northern Canada), and globally — with expertise in health strategy and planning.

“Within the next five years or so, global governments will be looking for assistance in shaping or revising the health systems within their own countries,” said Adalsteinn Brown, Director of the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

“Building from IHPME’s capacity in policy at all levels from the clinical to the system and in knowledge transfer, the two academic units will offer a wide range of solutions that extend beyond traditional educational and independent research projects,” said Brown, who also holds the Dalla Lana Chair in Public Health Policy.

The move also enhances the U of T’s global position with capacity to improve health care, health system design, and public and population health through research and training.