219087 Global Health Research and Training for Students: Developing Standards for Global Engagement

Monday, November 8, 2010

Carrie A. Rheingans , Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health and School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI
Kathleen F. Bush , Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Sujal M. Parikh , Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Anna G. Mitsak , Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan College of Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI
Julie Maslowsky, MA, MSW , Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Christopher Glen , Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan College of Literature, Science and the Arts, Ann Arbor, MI
Frank Anderson, MD, MPH , Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI
Issue: Many students engage in international projects as part of their educational experience. Working with a new, university-wide Center for Global Health (CGH), students at a large research university highlighted the need for exposure to a wide range of topics prior to engaging in global initiatives. The CGH provided faculty and financial support for students to create a Students' Handbook on Global Engagement. Description: The Handbook addresses core competencies in knowledge, attitudes, and practices across disciplines, encourages reflection, and enables discussion with peers, advisors, and collaborators locally and abroad. A multidisciplinary group of students met several times over six months to draft a document that covers the following topics: Designing Projects for the Developing World, Ethics of Research, Global Citizenship and Advocacy, Guidelines for Professional Behavior Abroad, Logistics and Preparation, and Producing with International Partners. Recommendations within each topic will be supplemented with case studies and online training modules based on actual student experiences. The Handbook will be evaluated regularly based on student and faculty input. Lessons Learned: Faculty support and input from students from diverse disciplines were integral to the creation of the Handbook. Students across the university's schools and colleges highly regard this “by students, for students” Handbook. Recommendations: The Handbook, including accompanying case studies and online training modules, should become part of standard preparation for university-sponsored activities. Published under a Creative Commons License, this Handbook can be used as a foundation for other universities' own guides for global engagement.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe ethical and professional standards for student global engagement. 2. Evaluate existing global engagement standards for students. 3. Describe the benefits of using an interdisciplinary approach for public health ethics. 4. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a student-written (as opposed to a administrator-written) handbook on global engagement.

Keywords: Global Education, Ethics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I participated in the entire process of the creation of the Students' Handbook on Global Engagement. The process and the Handbook itself are the topics of this presentation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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