Elsevier

Public Health

Volume 136, July 2016, Pages 196-199
Public Health

Short Communication
The benefits of experiential learning in global public health

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2015.10.030Get rights and content

Introduction

The rapid process of globalization has had a significant impact on population health worldwide.1, 2 As demonstrated by the spread of HIV/AIDS, SARS to MERS and more recently the Ebola virus,3, 4 public health challenges are not contained by national boundaries.

All healthcare professionals, particularly those working in public health, need a broad vision to successfully address public health issues. As such, global public health training is increasingly being considered important, and many universities have established or are adding global public health courses to their curriculum in order to provide an international perspective to public health issues.5, 6 In developing a new curriculum, it is important to learn from others experience.

For example, for the last ten years, Harvard School of Public Health has offered a 2.5-credit-bearing field study in the winter session studying Health System Reform in China.7 Students spend three weeks in China attending a workshop and seminars to enhance their understanding of China's health system. Students also learn firsthand how to develop sensible recommendations and policies which could reform China's health care system.

In response to the increasing importance of training public health professionals in global health environments,8 the Centre for Global Health (CGH) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed International Field Studies (IFS) courses to give graduate level public health students an opportunity to visit low-income countries to learn from experience and exposure.

Section snippets

International field study

Students participating in IFS are expected to: 1) learn about local public health conditions and underlying problems 2) interact directly with key players in the field study setting; and 3) be able to contrast the public health situation of the field study site with that of the student's home country.

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries. Each year, natural disasters and man-made tragedies lead to significant mortality and morbidity in this country.9 Since 2012,

Course requirements

During the elective course work, students are asked to do on-site oral presentations on their designated public health topic and to keep note of observations in a designated travel journal. At the end of each visit day, the team has the chance to reflect on the specific public health issues which they observed. The trip coordinators and local faculty help facilitate informal discussion. Participants are also encouraged to write down their thoughts and observations in a specially developed trip

Conclusion

Lessons learned included: the importance of advance planning and clear communication with local hosts, the need for cultural sensitivity to local customs and norms, the necessity of team-building and providing clear roles and responsibilities. Also, the necessity of good safety and general health precautions while traveling in a foreign country, and the need for flexibility and patience for unforeseen changes in plans and scheduling.

Overall, the international field study gives participants the

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Green Life Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh for their support.

Ethical approval

None sought.

Funding

None.

Competing interests

The authors have no competing financial interests to declare.

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