Using book clubs to understand global social determinants of health in an undergraduate community health nursing course

Background: The most cost-effective and efficacious method to improve global public health involves community-based interventions that seek to mitigate the social determinants of health. To mitigate these social determinants, nurses in the community must have an awareness and appreciation of complex constructs such as social class, social mobility and self-efficacy. Undergraduate nursing programs focus primarily on individual-level health problems and interventions. In many cases, students' first exposure to constructs critical to mitigating social determinants of health comes during their community health course, often at the end of the baccalaureate program. Description: To expose undergraduate students to stories that explain global social determinants of health, we developed a book club in an undergraduate community health nursing class at a major Midwestern university. The book club process involves small groups of students reading non-fiction and fiction books that explore the social determinants of global health. During book club meetings students describe their experience with the text, and begin to make connections with their clinical experiences. Book club provides students with a risk-free way of understanding social determinants of health. Lessons Learned: Book club raised student awareness of social determinants, stirred new thinking, unveiled hidden worlds and led to a new understanding of global health. Recommendations: 1-Incorporate the use of globally-themed public health fiction and non-fiction books in other nursing courses to increase exposure to concepts related to social determinants of health; 2-Expand book club out of the classroom and into community health settings by including clients in book clubs with students.