
2026 Global Health Bridge
Danbury Hospital, Connecticut, USA
Location: Creasy Auditorium
February 2 - February 3, 2026
Welcome to the Global Health Bridge
The Global Health Bridge is an immersive two‑day educational experience that brings together medical trainees, clinicians, and global health professionals to explore global health challenges, cross‑cultural practice, and equitable healthcare systems. It highlights foundational global health domains and fosters engagement with national and international experts.
Course Objectives
The Global Health Bridge is designed to provide medical students with basic knowledge regarding major determinants, health indicators, and trends in global health.
Domain 1: Global Burden of Disease
-
Describe the major causes of morbidity and mortality around the world and how the risk for disease varies with regions.
-
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
-
Describe how travel and trade contribute to the spread of communicable and chronic diseases.
Domain 3: Social and Environmental Determinants of Health
-
Describe how cultural context influences perceptions of health and disease.
-
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.
-
Describe the relationship between access to and quality of water, sanitation, food and air on individual and population health
Domain 4: Capacity Strengthening
-
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
-
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.
-
Acknowledge one’s limitations in skills, knowledge, and abilities.
Domain 6: Ethics
-
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
-
Articulate barriers to health and health care in low-resource settings locally and internationally.
Domain 8: Health Equity and Social Justice
-
Demonstrate a basic understanding of the relationships between health, human rights, and global inequities.
Domain 9: Program Management
-
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
-
Describe the roles and relationships of the major entities influencing global health and development.
Domain 11: Strategic Analysis
-
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/resources/2063
What Participants Will Gain
After attending this course, students should be able to:
-
Recognize and understand some of the complex facets of global health - including social, cultural, legal, health policy, environmental, and ethical considerations affecting healthcare.
-
Think critically about the burden of disease in the world’s most vulnerable populations.
-
Build awareness of the colonial mindset in global health; understanding the potentially negative impact it has had on the wellbeing of institutions, patients, and communities.
-
Understand how climate change is now more than ever affecting the health of people and the planet.


