Evaluating the impact of a social medicine course delivered in a local‐global context: A 10‐year multi‐site analysis

Abstract

AbstractAmidst the COVID‐19 pandemic and social uprisings demanding social and racial equity worldwide, there is an increasing demand for health justice training for health workers. However, there are scant evidence‐based assessments of the impact of such courses. Between 2010 and 2020, SocMed—a 501(c)3 non‐profit social justice organization—offered two distinct courses about health equity, the social determinants of health, and social medicine to health workers through the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Saint Mary Hospital Lacor in Gulu, Uganda. This study assesses the immediate impact of the SocMed curriculum on participants measured by a pre‐course and post‐course survey. In Minnesota, paired pre‐course and post‐course survey responses (mean n = 69; SD = 23) spanned years 2016–2019, while Uganda paired pre‐course and post‐course survey responses (mean n = 64; SD = 21) spanned years 2012–2013 and 2017–2019. Findings indicate that the course improved participants’ knowledge in all 24 of the topics in the Minnesota course and 42 of 44 topics in the Uganda course (significant at p < 0.05).