Annals of global health
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Annals of global health · Mar 2017
Student Reflection Papers on a Global Clinical Experience: A Qualitative Study.
Many of the 70,000 graduating US medical students [per year] have reported participating in a global health activity at some stage of medical school. This case study design provided a method for understanding the student's experience that included student's learning about culture, health disparities, exposure and reaction to a range of diseases actually encountered. The broad diversity of themes among students indicated that the GCE provided a flexible, personalized experience. We need to understand the student's experience in order to help design appropriate curricular experiences [and valid student assessment]. ⋯ This study provided a method for understanding the student's experience that included student's learning about culture, health disparities, and exposure and reaction to a range of diseases actually encountered. The broad diversity of themes among students indicated that the GCE provided a flexible, personalized experience. How we might design a curriculum to facilitate transformational learning experiences needs further research.
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Annals of global health · Mar 2017
Where We Fall Down: Tensions in Teaching Social Medicine and Global Health.
As 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. ⋯ Although 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.
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Annals of global health · Sep 2016
ReviewA Protocol to Develop Practice Guidelines for Primary Care Medical Service Trips.
North American clinicians are increasingly participating in medical service trips (MSTs) that provide primary healthcare in Latin America and the Caribbean. Literature reviews have shown that the existence and use of evidence-based guidelines by these groups are limited, which presents potential for harm. ⋯ This protocol will enable the creation of practice guidelines that are based on best available evidence, local knowledge, and equitable considerations. The development of guidelines using this process could optimize the conduct of MSTs, while prioritizing input from local community partners.
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Annals of global health · Jul 2016
The Need for Formal Surgical Global Health Programs and Improved Mission Trip Coordination.
There is a dire need for more surgical services as part of improving global health. Conditions treatable with surgery account for 11% of the global burden of disease, with a disproportionate burden affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Less than 6% of the world's operations are performed in LMICs, with relief organizations performing nearly 250,000 operations annually in LMICs in addition to each country's domestic surgical capacity. Currently, surgical needs are not adequately met by the existing patchwork of federal and nongovernmental organizations' surgical services and surgical mission trips. Improving coordination between mission trips may have synergistic benefits for maximizing the efficacy of the individual trips and improving the overall quality of care. ⋯ A minority of respondent surgery programs host formal, organized surgical global health programs with a structured leadership based at academic medical centers. Although most institutions have individuals leading international humanitarian missions to LMICs, these leaders do not function in an integrated fashion with their departments, institutions, or other academic medical programs. The majority of respondents were interested in coordinating their surgical trips with other groups. Respondents suggested the creation of a central database that would allow trip organizers to share information about upcoming trips, site logistics, and personnel or supply needs.