Using a World Health Assembly simulation to explore undergraduate students’ perceptions and confidence in analyzing complex global health challenges: A mixed-methods evaluation

Global health (GH) education is of growing interest and importance among pediatric trainees, including those pursuing pediatric critical care medicine (PCCM) training. Despite this, opportunities for formal GH training in US PCCM fellowships are limited. This study aims to describe the GH curricula at US PCCM fellowships, barriers to GH education expansion, and fellow attitudes toward GH. This study was a cross-sectional survey of program directors (PDs) and fellows from PCCM fellowships regarding currently available GH education at their institutions. We obtained data from 48 of 76 (63%) PCCM fellowship PDs and 60 PCCM fellows. Of responding programs, 9 (19%) offered a formal GH track, 28 (58%) offered GH opportunities but did not have a formal track, and 11 (23%) offered no GH opportunities. Programs that offered GH training had more fellows (P = .02) and GH faculty (P < .01) than those with no GH training. The most common GH-related offerings were sporadic GH lectures (76%), international clinical experiences (65%), and a GH-related scholarly project (51%). The significant barriers to the expansion of GH training were lack of funding, scheduling considerations, and lack of faculty mentorship. GH education is available for PCCM fellows in the majority of training programs; however, this education is highly variable and often incomplete. While there is interest from both faculty and fellows in making this education more robust, significant institutional barriers persist. Addressing these barriers will be essential to promoting and enhancing GH education in PCCM fellowships.

A new vision for bioethics training in global health

From boutique to basic: a call for standardised medical education in global health

U.S. medical students are pursuing an education and training in global health at increasing rates. Many medical schools have responded by establishing global health programs offering academic and experiential training to prepare interested students. Implementation of these programs often requires a significant investment of resources from medical schools. At the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, medical students, with support of faculty, addressed the deficit of global health education by creating a university-approved global health concentration. Through a grassroots effort, the students overcame the need for an initial institutional commitment by building partnerships across disciplines and institutions and capitalizing on their enthusiasm for a student directed program This paper highlights the development of the concentration, along with the students’ vision for their education in global health. The purpose of this article is two-fold: to demonstrate a student based model for bringing global health education to medical schools without an established program, and to emphasize to medical educators the importance of global health education in the training of future physicians.

Despite the growing importance of global health (GH) training for pediatric residents, few mechanisms have cataloged GH educational opportunities offered by US pediatric residency programs. We sought to characterize GH education opportunities across pediatric residency programs and identify program characteristics associated with key GH education elements. Data on program and GH training characteristics were sought from program directors or their delegates of all US pediatric residency programs during 2013 to 2014. These data were used to compare programs with and without a GH track as well as across small, medium, and large programs. Program characteristics associated with the presence of key educational elements were identified by using bivariate logistic regression. Data were collected from 198 of 199 active US pediatric residency programs (99.5%). Seven percent of pediatric trainees went abroad during 2013 to 2014. Forty-nine programs (24.7%) reported having a GH track, 66.1% had a faculty lead, 58.1% offered international field experiences, and 48.5% offered domestic field experiences. Forty-two percent of programs reported international partnerships across 153 countries. Larger programs, those with lead faculty, GH tracks, or partnerships had significantly increased odds of having each GH educational element, including pretravel preparation. The number of pediatric residency programs offering GH training opportunities continues to rise. However, smaller programs and those without tracks, lead faculty, or formal partnerships lag behind with organized GH curricula. As GH becomes an integral component of pediatric training, a heightened commitment is needed to ensure consistency of training experiences that encompass best practices in all programs.

Global health education in general preventive medicine residencies.

Introduction Despite China’s large and growing global presence, data about global health (GH) education (GHE) in China’s medical schools are limited. We aimed to describe GHE in these schools and determine whether some may teach GH concepts without labeling them as such. Methods In 2019, 161 Chinese medical schools eligible for accreditation by the Ministry of Education were invited to complete a questionnaire as part of a national survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive analyses, Chi-square tests, Fisher exact tests, and logit models. Results Approximately 57% of schools completed the survey (n = 93). 33 (35.5%) indicated that GHE was included in the curriculum. Although the majority of responding schools reported the absence of GH in the curriculum, GH topics were identified at many institutions. Schools affiliated with the central government or an aspiring world-class university were more likely to report the inclusion of GHE and offered more opportunities at international away sites. Conclusions Chinese medical schools are frequently teaching GH topics, but may not label the instruction as such. Policy-makers and educators should be equipped with a global perspective to facilitate GHE at China’s medical schools and take measures to address differences between schools.

Virtual reality technology for experiential learning in global health training curricula: a prototype for testing

BackgroundGlobal health has stimulated a lot of students and has attracted the interest of many faculties, thereby initiating the establishment of many academic programs on global health research and education. global health education reflects the increasing attention toward social accountability in medical education.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify gaps in the studies on global health education.DesignA critical literature review of empirical studies was conducted using Boolean search techniques.ResultsA total of 238 articles, including 16 reviews, were identified. There had been a boom in the numbers of studies on global health education since 2010. Four gaps were summarized. First, 94.6% of all studies on global health education were conducted in North American and European countries, of which 65.6% were carried out in the United States, followed by Canada (14.3%) and the United Kingdom (9.2%). Only seven studies (2.9%) were conducted in Asian countries, five (2.1%) in Oceania, and two (0.8%) in South American/Caribbean countries. A total of 154 studies (64.4%) were qualitative studies and 64 studies (26.8%) were quantitative studies. Second, elective courses and training or programs were the most frequently used approach for global health education. Third, there was a gap in the standardization of global health education. Finally, it was mainly targeted at medical students, residents, and doctors. It had not granted the demands for global health education of all students majoring in medicine-related studies.ConclusionsGlobal health education would be a potentially influential tool for achieving health equity, reducing health disparities, and also for future professional careers. It is the time to build and expand education in global health, especially among developing countries. Global health education should be integrated into primary medical education. Interdisciplinary approaches and interprofessional collaboration were recommended. Collaboration and support from developed countries in global health education should be advocated to narrow the gap and to create further mutual benefits.

A growing number of pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship programs in the United States offer global health training opportunities. Formal, integrated global health programs within pulmonary and critical care fellowships are relatively new but are built on principles and ideals of global health that focus on the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and social justice. Although core competencies consistent with these overarching themes in global health education have not been formalized for pulmonary and critical care trainees, relevant competency areas include clinical knowledge, international research training, cultural competency, and clinical and research capacity building. Existing global health education in U.S. pulmonary and critical care medicine training programs can generally be classified as one of three different models: integrated global health tracks, global health electives, and additional research years. Successful global health education programs foster partnerships and collaborations with international sites that emphasize bidirectional exchange. This bidirectional exchange includes ongoing, equitable commitments to mutual opportunities for training and professional development, including a focus on the particular knowledge and skill sets critical for addressing the unique priorities of individual countries. However, barriers related to the availability of mentorship, funding, and dedicated time exist to expanding global health education in pulmonary and critical care medicine. The implementation of global health training within pulmonary and critical care medicine programs requires continued optimization, but this training is essential to prepare the next generation of physicians to address the global aspects of respiratory disease and critical illness.

Global health discipline is of increasing interest for educators and students in public health across the world. Public health education is recently gaining momentum in India, but global health is still at an embryonic stage. Value of students as stakeholders in curriculum development is increasingly recognized but literature about perspectives of public health students regarding global health education is limited. This study aimed to explore Indian public health students' perspectives about global health education and to provide platform for the development of global health education framework for future public health professionals. This study involved a series of focus groups with students and sought to understand perceptions about global health and global health education framework. We recruited public health students at three institutes across India for focus group discussions. Focus groups questions covered current understanding of global health, opinions regarding global health education for public health curriculum and the relevance of global health competency domains for future employment. Recordings were transcribed verbatim and the transcripts were read along with field notes and then analyzed thematically. A total of 36 students participated in four focus groups. There was a general recognition that global health is transnational and that a global outlook is now essential. But there were concerns regarding local and global priorities in public health. Global health was regarded as being wider than public health by some, but others viewed public health being the umbrella term with global health as a specialization. Global health competencies were viewed as a “step up” from the public health competencies but core public health competencies were considered essential. International experiences and use of technology were key themes for delivery of global health education. Employability and career progression for global health graduates were of concern for many participants. This study provides insight into the student perspectives regarding global health education for public health programs in India. Clear direction in terms of curriculum and its utility for career growth and employability as a global health professional needs to be established for global health education in India and other similar settings.

BackgroundUniversities undertake the majority of publicly funded research in Germany and hence bear a responsibility to contribute to global health efforts. So far, involvement and impact of German medical faculties in global health are unknown. Our aim was to systematically asses and evaluate German medical faculties’ contribution to global health related research and education, as well as their policies and practices concerning open access publishing and equitable licensing.MethodsWe assessed the involvement in global health of all 36 publicly funded medical faculties in Germany during 2010–2014 in three areas: innovation, access and education, using the following indicators: research funding and publications focused on global health or poverty-related and neglected diseases; open access publishing and policies promoting access to medical innovations worldwide; provision of global health education. Data were gathered from public databases, university websites and questionnaires sent to individual universities for validation and triangulation.ResultsThere was a high level of variability between institutions and indicators. The proportion of research funding for poverty-related and neglected diseases research ranged between 0.0–1.1%. The top five institutions received nearly 85% of the total poverty-related and neglected diseases research funding. 20 of 36 universities had an institutional open access publishing policy, 19 had an open access publishing fund, 16 had neither. Only one university reported having used an equitable licensing policy. 22 of 36 faculties provided some global health education, but only one of them included global health in their core undergraduate medical curriculum as a compulsory course with more than just single lectures.ConclusionObtained data indicate that global health and poverty-related and neglected diseases research at German medical faculties is highly concentrated in a few institutions, open-access publishing and equitable licensing policies are mostly absent, and only little global health education exists. Universities and government should address global health strategically in both research and education at medical faculties to reflect the country’s economic and political weight and human resource potential.

This chapter describes the development of a multidisciplinary global health program in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Key features were (1) a deliberate early decision to focus scarce resources on education in global health; (2) creation of a three-tiered educational program that offered introductory training in global health to all medical students, in-depth education to students interested in global health careers, and postgraduate education in global health tracks to selected residents in Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry; (3) the creation of a strong global health track in the MPH program; and (4) creation of a post-residency teaching fellowship in global health. Two external factors strongly assisted program growth: (1) consistent fiscal and intellectual support from the Dean of the Medical School and the Dean for Medical Education which culminated in the introduction of a stand-alone course in global health to the mandatory core curriculum of the medical school, and (2) the building of a strong base of philanthropic support with support from the Medical School’s office of Development that culminated in formation of the recently endowed Arnhold Global Health Institute at Mount Sinai. Program evaluation and continuous improvement were essential at every stage.

Dental schools need to produce graduates who are adequately prepared to respond to the complex needs and challenges of the increasingly diverse and interconnected world in which they will practice dentistry. To enhance discussions about the coverage of global oral health competencies in dental education, the aims of this study were to assess how global health education is currently incorporated into predoctoral dental training in the U.S. and which global oral health competencies are being covered. Surveys were emailed to all 64 accredited U.S. dental schools during the 2015-16 academic year. Respondents from 52 schools completed the survey (response rate 81%). The results showed that social determinants of oral diseases and conditions, how to identify barriers to use of oral health services, and how to work with patients who have limited dental health literacy were covered in the greatest number of responding schools' curricula. Key areas of global health curricula that were covered rarely included global dental infrastructure, data collection design, and horizontal and vertical programming approaches to health improvement. Despite current dialogue on the addition of global oral health competencies to dental curricula, only 41% of the responding schools were currently planning to expand their global oral health education. Based on these results, the authors conclude that it may be most feasible for dental schools to add recommended global oral health competencies to their curricula by incorporating didactic content into already established courses.

Background Education and training in global health and social justice is crucial to ensuring the next generation of health professionals are poised to tackle the pressing issues of our time. Objectives To develop and implement an intensive summer course on global health and social justice for high school students at the University of Southern California. Methods This paper reviews the course aims and curriculum, its implementation both onsite and online, and reports on student course evaluations and long-term student outcomes. Results Student satisfaction with the program was extremely high, which endured when the course went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most popular elements of the course included interactive, game-based activities and guest speakers. Many students reported that the course motivated them to pursue higher education and careers in global health or related fields. Conclusions More universities should consider offering summer programs or other extension programs targeting high school students in order to meet the increasing demand for global health education. Recommendations for implementing global health courses for younger learners include having an interdisciplinary focus with a range of topics and diverse perspectives; provision of scholarships to allow low-income students and students from abroad to participate; prioritizing the integration of active learning and experiential educational opportunities; and incorporating debriefing and reflection as integral parts of learning.