Abstract
BackgroundPhysicians today are increasingly faced with healthcare challenges that require an understanding of global health trends and practices, yet little is known about what constitutes appropriate global health training.MethodsA literature review was undertaken to identify competencies and educational approaches for teaching global health in medical schools.ResultsUsing a pre-defined search strategy, 32 articles were identified; 11 articles describing 15 global health competencies for undergraduate medical training were found. The most frequently mentioned competencies included an understanding of: the global burden of disease, travel medicine, healthcare disparities between countries, immigrant health, primary care within diverse cultural settings and skills to better interface with different populations, cultures and healthcare systems. However, no consensus on global health competencies for medical students was apparent. Didactics and experiential learning were the most common educational methods used, mentioned in 12 and 13 articles respectively. Of the 11 articles discussing competencies, 8 linked competencies directly to educational approaches.ConclusionsThis review highlights the imperative to document global health educational competencies and approaches used in medical schools and the need to facilitate greater consensus amongst medical educators on appropriate global health training for future physicians.
Highlights
Physicians today are increasingly faced with healthcare challenges that require an understanding of global health trends and practices, yet little is known about what constitutes appropriate global health training
In order to develop initial guidance in this area, this study reviewed existing literature to identify competencies and educational approaches recommended for teaching global health components in medical curricula
Four other articles were obtained from the McGill Global Health Programs files[20,21,22,23]
Summary
Physicians today are increasingly faced with healthcare challenges that require an understanding of global health trends and practices, yet little is known about what constitutes appropriate global health training. Global health is the study and practice of improving health and health equity for all people worldwide through international and interdisciplinary collaboration [1] Factors such as increasing international travel, the globalization of food supplies and commerce and the occurrence of multinational epidemics including the 2009 Influenza A pandemic have heightened awareness of global health issues. This awareness has influenced health practices and medical education locally and globally. Despite growing interest in and the importance of global health, there exists little agreement on what constitutes appropriate global health training for medical students [4]
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