240149 Designing experiential health related study abroad programs in South Africa

Monday, October 31, 2011

Debra Sutton, PhD , Department of Health Sciences, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
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.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Identify essential elements necessary in designing an experiential health related study abroad program in South Africa. Evaluate the feasibility of designing an experiential health related study abroad program in South Africa. Develop a preliminary plan of an experiential health related study abroad program in South Africa.

Keywords: Cultural Competency, Global Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I have planned, implemented, and evaluated 10 experiential health related study abroad programs, 5 of which were in several locations in South Africa.
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.