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Effective global responses to ongoing and future public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) require coordinated action across jurisdictions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries used international travel measures to an unprecedented degree and in an uncoordinated way. Our Pandemics and Borders Project is analysing a global dataset on travel measures; systematically reviewing evidence of their impacts; and conducting case studies of decision making indifferent jurisdictions. Our findings suggest limited scientific evidence or consensus on risk analysis to guide complex decisions on using travel measures in public health responses. Poorly coordinated border management has contributed to underreporting of cases, increased disease transmission, and unnecessary economic and social impacts of PHEICs.
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This project builds on these findings to support evidence-informed and risk-based decision making on whether, when, what and how travel measures should be used. Our aims are to:
1) comparatively review and apply new methods to assess public health risks from travel during COVID-19;
2) evaluate the effectiveness of mitigating public health risks during COVID-19 of specific travel measures under different conditions; and
3) use findings to develop scenarios and pilot training exercises that simulate decision making on managing borders during PHEICs.
This project is a collaboration among researchers based at Simon Fraser University and the University of Toronto. In addition, the project team has collaborated with a broad range of knowledge users at different times such as the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Canadian Department of National Defence, and World Health Organization (WHO).
This project is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The project commenced in October 2021 and will be completed in March 2025.
Understanding, recovering from and mitigating inequities associated with the use of travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for post-pandemic recovery and future preparedness from Canada-U.S. border management [Canada-U.S. Border Equity (CUBE) Project]
The uncoordinated, prolonged and frequently changing use of travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in large-scale disruptions to individuals, economies and whole societies. While trade-offs were required between applying measures for public health risk mitigation and their potential for wider societal impacts , limited attention has been given to how these impacts have been experienced differentially across individuals, communities and countries.
Focusing on travel measures for Canada-US border management during the pandemic, this project aims to better understand and develop tools to mitigate travel measure inequities, through a study of the impacts of travel restrictions, quarantine, testing and immunity certificate requirements on selected equity-deserving groups.
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This project is a collaboration among researchers based at Simon Fraser University and the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.
This project is funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund administered by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The project started in February 2023 and will be completed in January 2026
Understanding compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005): Recommended strategies to inform and strengthen global coordination of the COVID-19 outbreak response
The aim of this research project was to understand the use of cross-border measures, notably travel and trade restrictions, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-border measures are measures applied at national borders to achieve a public health goal by controlling the international movement of people, or goods and services. Our project sought to document their use, understand the rationale for specific measures and how they are used, and review available evidence of their public health and wider impacts. To achieve these objectives, the project team collected and analyzed primary data on cross-border measures, conducted systematic reviews of available evidence of their impacts, and carried out three case studies of the use of cross-border measures during COVID-19 by Canada, Hong Kong and the United States. In relation to the International Health Regulations (2005), our research supported evidence-informed decision making about the effective use of cross-border measures during pandemics.
This project was a collaboration among researchers based at Simon Fraser University (SFU), the University of Hong Kong and the University of Maryland. In addition, the project team worked with a broad range of collaborators, including officials in government, public health agencies, the International Air Transport Association, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
This project was funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The project commenced in March 2020 and was completed in March 2023..
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Pandemics & Borders draws upon research supported by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Pandemics et Borders repose sur des recherches financées par le fonds Nouvelles frontières en recherche du gouvernement du Canada et les Instituts de Recherche en Santé du Canada.