Majid Sadigh, MD Global Health Academy at Nuvance Healthand the Universityof Vermont Larner College of Medicine
November 29 - December 1, 2023
Global Health Bridge
Swapnil Parve, MD, PhD, FACC, FACP, FEFIM
Introduction from the Course Directors
Together with our faculty, we have assembled national and international experts to create what we hope will be a passion-driven and thought-provoking experience. We hope this course helps impart a healthy appreciation of global health, public health, and humanistic and ethical topics in a passion-driven and thought-provoking learning experience. We look forward to your engagement in our planned educational activities.
Please reach out to us at any time with questions, concerns, and/or further discussion and points of view.
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Sincerely,
Swapnil Parve, MD, PhD
Course Director, November 2023
Swapnil.Parve@nuvancehealth.org
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Bulat Ziganshin, MD, PhD
Course Director, November 2023
Bulat Ziganshin, MD, PhD, FACC
The Global Health Bridge is designed to provide medical students with basic knowledge regarding major determinants, health indicators, and trends in global health.
Specific Course Objectives:
Domain 1: Global Burden of Disease
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Describe the major causes of morbidity and mortality around the world and how the risk for disease varies with regions.
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Describe major public health efforts to reduce disparities in global health (ie. MDG, SDGs, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria)
Domain 2: Globalization of Health and Health Care
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Describe how travel and trade contribute to the spread of communicable and chronic diseases.
Domain 3: Social and Environmental Determinants of Health
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Describe how cultural context influences perceptions of health and disease.
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List major social and economic determinants of health and their effects on the access to and quality of health services and on differences in morbidity and mortality between and within countries.
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Describe the relationship between access to and quality of water, sanitation, food and air on individual and population health
Domain 4: Capacity Strengthening
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Discuss sustainability and capacity strengthening defined as the sharing of knowledge, skills, and resources for enhancing global public health programs, infrastructure and workforce to address current and future global public health needs.
Domain 5: Collaboration, Partnering and Communication
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Exhibit inter-professional values and communication skills that demonstrate respect for, and awareness of the unique cultures, values, roles/responsibilities and expertise represented by other professionals and groups that work in global health.
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Acknowledge one’s limitations in skills, knowledge, and abilities.
Domain 6: Ethics
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Demonstrate an understanding of and an ability to resolve common ethical issues and challenges that arise when working within diverse economic, political, and cultural contexts as well as when working with vulnerable populations and in low-resource settings to address global health issues.
Domain 7: Professional Practice
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Articulate barriers to health and health care in low-resource settings locally and internationally.
Domain 8: Health Equity and Social Justice
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Demonstrate a basic understanding of the relationships between health, human rights, and global inequities.
Domain 9: Program Management
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Develop awareness of program management in global health. Program management is the design, implementation, and evaluation of global health programs to maximize contributions to effective policy, enhanced practice, and improved and sustainable health outcomes.
Domain 10: Sociocultural and Political Awareness
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Describe the roles and relationships of the major entities influencing global health and development.
Domain 11: Strategic Analysis
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Develop awareness of how strategic analysis can use systems thinking to analyze a diverse range of complex and interrelated factors shaping health trends to formulate programs at the local, national, and international levels.
The objectives were adapted from the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Education Competencies. UVM is an institutional member of CUGH.
The tool kit can be found at the following website: https://www.cugh.org/online-tools/competencies-toolkit/
Global Health Bridge Course; Objectives
By the end of the Global Health Bridge, all medical students who have taken this course will be able to do the following:
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1. Develop a Holistic Understanding of Global Health and Ability to Analyze Global Health Disparities.
Provide a broad definition of global health, encompassing key social determinants of health (such as cultural, economic, political, and environmental factors), and explore and critically analyze disparities in health outcomes and healthcare access between different regions and populations of the world, with a focus on the world’s most vulnerable populations and the importance of cultural humility and sensitivity in determining healthcare practices and outcomes.
2. Examine the Global Burden of Diseases and Associated Challenges and Solutions.
Identify major global health challenges, such as infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, global mental health, environmental health, and impact of climate change, while also exploring strategies and solutions to address these challenges.
3. Build Awareness of the Colonial Mindset in Global Health
Reflect upon the potentially negative impact that the “colonial mindset” has had on the wellbeing of institutions, patients, and communities worldwide.
4. Encourage Ethical and Equitable Global Health Practices.
Deliberate on issues like ethics in global health (such as research during global health electives), and the principles of health equity and social justice, guiding them toward professionally and ethically responsible global health practice.
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