International Initiatives
World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center
The Center in Healthy Cities at the School of Nursing engages in research, education, and community development efforts related to community-wide promotion partnerships. It was established in 1987 with six Indiana communities with the belief that cities and communities can:
- combine resources;
- develop the political will to create healthy public policy; and
- orient their environments toward production of health.
The WHO designated the center as a Collaborating Center in Healthy Cities in 1991. It is one of four such centers worldwide. Although there are several nursing schools with collaborating centers in nursing and midwifery, ours is the only Collaborating Center in Healthy Cities in the United States.
The Healthy Cities Movement seeks to build and strengthen community partnerships—advocating the formulation of healthy public policy, maintaining healthy environments, and promoting healthy lifestyles to improve social and health conditions.
The Need
Cities and communities can make significant contributions to improve health and quality of life. Although advances in our health care system are yielding significant results, the United States continues to have the highest per capita health care spending. Our cities and communities must increase their investment in health promotion and disease prevention.
Strategic Priorities
- Leadership in promoting the WHO Healthy Cities model for improving community health.
- Expertise in increasing health parity through community-wide health promotion.
- Focused capacity in addressing global health issues.
- A vigorous policy and evaluation presence.
- A learning laboratory for translational research in community health promotion.
The center also provides various services, including:
- Consultation and training;
- Research training opportunities in community-wide health promotion;
- Evaluation of the processes, structures, and outcomes of local community-wide health promotion partnerships; and
- Help with skill development of local advisory committees in writing funded proposals.
Contact Us
For more information about our World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Healthy Cities, please contact:
Mary Beth Riner, DNS, RN
Co-director
(317) 274-4325
Fax: (317) 274-2411
mriner [at] iupui [dot] edu
