The Bridge Program: CIHR Strategic Training Program bridging public health, engineering and policy research.

Some of the largest gains in life expectancy in the last century were made by prevention measures using engineering solutions, reinforced by public policies. Examples include safe drinking water, sanitary sewage disposal, changes in heating fuels from coal to oil to natural gas, seatbelts in cars, and workplace safety systems. In spite of the importance of linking engineering, policy and public health, in typical university structures, engineering and medical faculties tend to operate very separately, and often do not interact with policy makers. To bridge this divide, we propose to renew and build upon our successful Strategic Training Program, the Bridge Program, an innovative training model centred at the University of British Columbia with links to government, the private sector, and other research institutions. It aims to create a paradigm shift in the search for solutions to public health issues by bridging the realms of engineering, public policy, and the environmental, occupational, and public health sciences. The goal is to train the next generation of researchers, professionals, and policy makers so they will be able to work as partners to develop prevention strategies for the public health problems facing Canadians today and in the years to come.