Resumen
A discipline is a branch of knowledge. Examples are biology, chemistry and history. Real world problems are complex problems which do not respect artificial disciplinary boundaries. Public health surveillance is increasingly facing new challenges that require multiple disciplinary partnership to resolve. Partnership refers to two or more people or organizations that work together. The terms multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary are often used interchangeably but they have specific meanings. The objectives of this keynote presentation are to (1) define and compare the three multiple disciplinary approaches, using examples of several surveillance networks including the World Alliance for Risk Factor Surveillance (WARFS) and Americas' Network for Chronic Disease Surveillance (AMNET); (2) discuss a number of promotors of teamwork and partnership building; and (3) present a roadmap on where to find multiple disciplinary collaboration based on a review of the knowledge universe.