Abstract
BackgroundAs global health interest has risen, so too has the relevance of education on the social determinants of health and health equity. Social medicine offers a particularly salient framework for educating on the social determinants of health, health disparities, and health equity. SocMed and EqualHealth, 2 unique but related organizations, offer annual global health courses in Uganda, Haiti, and the United States, which train students to understand and respond to the social determinants of health through praxis, self-reflection and self-awareness, and building collaborative partnerships across difference. ObjectivesThe aim of this paper is to describe an innovative pedagogical approach to teaching social medicine and global health. We draw on the notion of praxis, which illuminates the value of iterative reflection and action, to critically examine our points of weakness as educators in order to derive lessons with broad applicability for those engaged in global health work. MethodsThe data for this paper were collected through an autoethnography of teaching 10 global health social medicine courses in Uganda and Haiti since 2010. It draws on revealing descriptions from participant observation, student feedback collected in anonymous course evaluations, and ongoing relationships with alumni. FindingsCritical analysis reveals 3 significant and complicated tensions raised by our courses. The first point of weakness pertains to issues of course ownership by North American outsiders. The second tension emerges from explicit acknowledgment of social and economic inequities among our students and faculty. Finally, there are ongoing challenges of sustaining positive momentum toward social change after transformative course experiences. ConclusionsAlthough successful in generating transformative learning experiences, these courses expose significant fracture points worth interrogating as educators, activists, and global health practitioners. Ultimately, we have identified a need for building equitable partnerships and intentional community, embracing discomfort, and moving beyond reflection to praxis in global health education.
Highlights
As teachers of social medicine courses offered in Uganda and Haiti, we believe striving for solidarity promotes honest appreciation of one another, acknowledges the interconnectedness of the world, and invites discomfort with the historically unequal power dynamics of global health
We describe our pedagogical approach to social medicine, followed by a presentation of 3 significant and complicated tensions we experience as global health educators
Our analyses are based on an autoethnography of 6 years of social medicine courses delivered by 2 unique but related organizations: SocMed and EqualHealth
Summary
As North American global health educators striving to build ethical, authentic partnerships that incorporate the values of humility, introspection, solidarity, and social justice with our educator colleagues in the Global South, we are drawn to the call for “global solidarity” as a fundamental framework for global health endeavors.[12] In this sense, “global solidarity” means reciprocal relationships built on mutual respect while acknowledging the inequitable distribution of power and resources across the globe. As teachers of social medicine courses offered in Uganda and Haiti, we believe striving for solidarity promotes honest appreciation of one another, acknowledges the interconnectedness of the world, and invites discomfort with the historically unequal power dynamics of global health. SocMed and EqualHealth, 2 unique but related organizations, offer annual global health courses in Uganda, Haiti, and the United States, which train students to understand and respond to the social determinants of health through praxis, self-reflection and self-awareness, and building collaborative partnerships across difference
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