Designing experiential health related study abroad programs in South Africa

Increasingly, U.S. colleges and universities have made the development of culturally competent, global citizens a part of their core mission. Thus, academic programs in public health and health education have responded by expanding existing or developing new study abroad experiences as a key strategy for realizing this goal. During this presentation, 10 years of experience in planning, implementing, and evaluating short-term, summer study abroad programs will be shared. Special emphasis will be placed on designing experiential health related programs throughout South Africa. Presentation elements will include: selecting a location (city, township, rural village); identifying a population (age, gender, race, tribal affiliation); determining a focal health issue (HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, malnutrition, substance abuse); establishing learning partners (universities, k-12 schools, governmental, nongovernmental); developing research goals; creating a course syllabus with meaningful projects and experiences; and constructing an evaluation process to assess student learning and overall program effectiveness.