Working Together Toward a Healthier Wisconsin

Ron Cisler

The Center for Urban Population Health (CUPH) was initiated in April 2001 as a partnership among Aurora Health Care, the University of Wisconsin Medical School and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. It was born from a desire to create a central repository, or “data warehouse,” for research being done on health issues in Wisconsin, and to provide support and resources to researchers working in this area.

When CUPH was founded, it focused on a few predominantly academic-based projects. In less than five years, it has expanded to include numerous significant community-connected projects and initiatives. CUPH is creating a comprehensive view of public health by conducting projects throughout the human lifespan, including: (1) infant- and child-focused projects such as a statewide perinatal database and policies concerning children with special health care needs; (2) youth-focused projects such as the Wireless Technology Vision Screening Project, the Health Professions Pipeline Program and the Health Information Systems Development Program, all with Milwaukee Public Schools; and (3) adult-focused trials on a variety of behavioral health issues, including alcohol abuse and dependence, smoking cessation, diabetes management and obesity management. All CUPH projects address psychosocial factors related to health disparities that especially impact urban minority residents.

The center’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of Wisconsin’s urban communities through health services research, evaluation, research education and training, and health promotion. To accomplish this mission, faculty, residents, health care workers, government and community members work with center staff to address the medical and nonmedical factors that contribute to individual and community health.

CUPH has a dedicated, diverse, interdisciplinary faculty and staff that work to emphasize community and individual assets and resilience over deficits and chronic need. Ron Cisler is director of the center and associate professor in the UWM College of Health Sciences’ Department of Health Sciences. “Together, we strive to build a nationally recognized, multidisciplinary research center that is community-connected, innovative, vibrant and sustainable,” said Cisler.

URL: http://www.uwm.edu/News/Features/06.06/CHS_CUPH.html
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