© 2003 American Public Health Association
Núria Homedes is with the School of Public Health, University of Texas, Houston at the El Paso regional campus. Antonio Ugalde is with the Department of Sociology, University of Texas, Austin. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Núria Homedes, MD, DrPH, School of Public Health, 1100 North Stanton, Suite 110, El Paso, TX 79902 (e-mail: nhomedes{at}utep.edu).
Objectives. We studied the impact of globalization on the making of health policy. Globalization is understood as economic interdependence among nations. The North American Free Trade Agreement is used as a marker to assess the effects of economic interdependence on binational health cooperation along the United StatesMexico border. Methods. We observed participants and conducted in-depth interviews with policymakers, public health specialists, representatives of professional organizations, and unions. Results. Globalization has not promoted binational health policy cooperation. Barriers that keep US and Mexican policymakers apart prevail while health problems that do not recognize international borders go unresolved. Conclusions. If international health problems are to be solved, political, cultural, and social interdependence need to be built with the same impetus by which policymakers promote international trade. This article has been cited by other articles:
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