Online Program

317976
Bringing Global Health to Class: The Pilot Test of a Global Health Simulation


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 4:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

Molly McKinney, MA, ABD, Health Promotion and Administration, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
Katherine Woods, Health Promotion and Administration, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
Global health is an ever changing and rapidly expanding component of public health programs. Global health is the study and practice of improving health, healthcare, and health equity for people throughout the world by means of international and interdisciplinary collaboration (Koplan, Bond, Merson, Reddy, Rodriguez, Sewankambo, Wasserheit, 2009).  Medical schools are starting to incorporate the principles of global health on a regular basis.  While this information is important to physicians, it is also necessary for those working in other aspects of public health.  The current study looks the teaching of global health to undergraduate students at a public four-year institution.  Many of the undergraduate students are first generation college students; many have never been outside of their county of birth.  This isolation or limited access to diverse cultures has posed a problem in students reaching intended learning outcomes.  To ameliorate these outcomes, the current pilot program has been implemented.  Students enrolled in an introduction to global health course are given simulation tasks.  Small groups of students are assigned to a fictitious country.  Within this country, each student is assigned a specific healthcare role.  Throughout the semester groups are presented with various tasks based on global health topics (environmental health, communicable diseases, nutrition, etc.).  After one semester of pilot testing, student scores on exams and written work have increased.  Simulations continue to be refined and improved based on student feedback and class performance.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate current teaching modalities for integration of all or part of this simulation.

Keyword(s): International Health, Teaching

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have taught and completed research in the area of health disparities and global health for five years.
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.