Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Globalization and Health
Published in: Globalization and Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research

Training the next generation of global health experts: experiences and recommendations from Pacific Rim universities

Authors: Mellissa Withers, David Press, Heather Wipfli, Judith McCool, Chang-Chuan Chan, Masamine Jimba, Christopher Tremewan, Jonathan Samet

Published in: Globalization and Health | Issue 1/2016

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Finding solutions to global health problems will require a highly-trained, inter-disciplinary workforce. Global health education and research can potentially have long-range impact in addressing the global burden of disease and protecting and improving the health of the global population.

Methods

We conducted an online survey of twelve higher education institutions in the Pacific Rim that spanned the period 2005–2011. Program administrators provided data on program concentrations, student enrollment and student funding opportunities for 41 public health programs, including those specific to global health.

Results

The Master of Public Health (MPH) was the most common degree offered. A growing demand for global health education was evident. Enrollment in global health programs increased over three-fold between 2005–2011. Very few institutions had specific global health programs or offered training to undergraduates. Funding for student scholarships was also lacking.

Conclusions

The growing demand for global health education suggests that universities in the Pacific Rim should increase educational and training opportunities in this field. Schools of medicine may not be fully equipped to teach global health-related courses and to mentor students who are interested in global health. Increasing the number of dedicated global health research and training institutions in the Pacific Rim can contribute to building capacity in the region. Faculty from different departments and disciplines should be engaged to provide multi-disciplinary global health educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. New, innovative ways to collaborate in education, such as distance education, can also help universities offer a wider range of global health-related courses. Additional funding of global health is also required.
Footnotes
1
Johns Hopkins and Hanoi School of Public Health are not APRU members. However, they have cooperated for many years in the APRU Global Health Program as non-member universities.
 
Literature
1.
Fineberg HV, Hunter DJ. A global view of health — an unfolding series. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(1):78–9.CrossRefPubMed
2.
Ackerly DC, Udayakumar K, Taber R, Merson MH, Dzau VJ. Perspective: global medicine: opportunities and challenges for academic health science systems. Acad Med. 2011;86(9):1093–9.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Fried LP, Bentley ME, Buekens P, Burke DS, Frenk JJ, Klag MJ, et al. Global health is public health. Lancet. 2010;375(9714):535–7.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Quinn TC. The Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health: transcending borders for world health. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):134–42.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Fried LP, Piot P, Frenk JJ, Flahault A, Parker R. Global public health leadership for the twenty-first century: towards improved health of all populations. Global Public Health. 2012;7(S1):S5–15.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Evans D. The role of schools of public health: learning from history, looking to the future. J Public Health. 2009;31(3):446–50.CrossRef
7.
Frenk J, Chen L, Bhutta ZA, Cohen J, Crisp N, Evans T, Fineberg H, Garcia P, Ke Y, Kelley P, Kistnasamy B, Meleis A, Naylor D, Pablos-Mendez A, Reddy S, Scrimshaw S, Sepulveda J, Serwadda D, Zurayk H. Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. Lancet. 2010;376:1923–58.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Birbeck GL, Wiysonge CS, Mills EJ, Frenk JJ, Zhou XN, Jha P. Global health: the importance of evidence-based medicine. BMC Med. 2013;11:223.PubMedPubMedCentral
9.
Koplan JP, Bond TC, Merson MH, for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Executive Board, et al. Towards a common defi nition of global health. Lancet. 2009;373:1993–5.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Griffiths S, Tiang JL, Yeoh EK, editors. Routledge Handbook of Global Public Health in Asia. New York: Routledge Handbooks; 2014.
11.
Babich LP, Bicknell WJ, Culpepper L, Jack BW. Social responsibility, international development, and institutional commitment: lessons from the Boston University experience. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):143–7.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Haq C, Baumann L, Olsen CW, Brown LD, Kraus C, Bousquet G, et al. Creating a center for global health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):148–53.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Koplan JP, Baggett RL. The Emory Global Health Institute: developing partnerships to improve health through research, training, and service. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):128–33.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Lorntz B, Boissevain JR, Dillingham R, Kelly J, Ballard A, Scheld WM, et al. A trans-university center for global health. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):165–72.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Macfarlane SB, Agabian N, Novotny TE, Rutherford GW, Stewart CC, Debas HT. Think globally, act locally, and collaborate internationally: global health sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):173–9.CrossRefPubMed
16.
McKinley DW, Williams SR, Norcini JJ, Anderson MB. International exchange programs and U.S. medical schools. Acad Med. 2008;83(10 Suppl):S53–7.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Saba N, Brewer TF. Beyond borders: building global health programs at McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):185–91.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Vermund SH, Sahasrabuddhe VV, Khedkar S, Jia Y, Etherington C, Vergara A. Building global health through a center-without-walls: the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):154–64.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
19.
Williams RS, Casey PJ, Kamei RK, Buckley EG, Soo KC, Merson MH, et al. A global partnership in medical education between Duke University and the National University of Singapore. Acad Med. 2008;83(2):122–7.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Debas HT, Coates TJ. The University of California Global Health Institute opportunities and challenges. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2011;25(3):499–509. vii.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Farquhar C, Nathanson N, Consortium Working G. The Afya Bora Consortium: an Africa-US partnership to train leaders in global health. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2011;25(2):399–409.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
22.
Patrick WK. The Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Global Public Health and Medicine: stabilizing south-south academic collaboration. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2011;25(3):537–54. viii.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Merson MH. University engagement in global health. N Engl J Med. 2014; 1;370(18):1676–8.
24.
Drain PK, Primack A, Hunt D, Fawzi WW, Holmes K, Gardner P. Global health in medical education: a call for more training and opportunities. Acad Med. 2007;82(3):226–30.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Crump JA, Sugarman J, the Working Group on Ethics Guidelines for Global Health Training (WEIGHT). Ethics and best practice guidelines for training experiences in global health. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010;83(6):1178–82.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
26.
Lencucha R, Mohindra K. A snapsot of global health education at North American universities. Glob Health Promot. 2014;21(1):63–7.CrossRefPubMed
27.
28.
Jeffrey J, Dumont RA, Kim GY, Kuo T. Effects of international health electives on medical student learning and career choice: results of a systematic literature review. Fam Med. 2011;43(1):21–8.PubMed
29.
Cuff P, Schmitt M, Zierler B, Cox M, De Maeseneer J, Maine LL, Reeves S, Spencer HC, and Thibault GE. Interprofessional education for collaborative practice: views from a global forum workshop. J Interprof Care. 2013;28(1):1–3.
30.
31.
Karunathilake IM, Liyanage CK. Accreditation of public health education in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2015;27(1):38–44.
32.
Sykes KJ. Short-term medical service trips: a systematic review of the evidence. Am J Public Health. 2014;104:e38–48.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Thompson M, Huntington M, Hunt D, Pinsky L, Brodie J. Educational effects of international health electives on US and Canadian medical students and residents: a literature review. Acad Med. 2003;78(3):342–7.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Training the next generation of global health experts: experiences and recommendations from Pacific Rim universities
Authors
Mellissa Withers
David Press
Heather Wipfli
Judith McCool
Chang-Chuan Chan
Masamine Jimba
Christopher Tremewan
Jonathan Samet
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Globalization and Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1744-8603
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-016-0162-z

Other articles of this Issue 1/2016

Globalization and Health 1/2016 Go to the issue

Research

Influential journals in health research: a bibliometric study

Research

Analysis of the corporate political activity of major food industry actors in Fiji

Review

Health systems strengthening in German development cooperation: making the case for a comprehensive strategy

Erratum

Erratum to: A rapid evidence review on the effectiveness of institutional health partnerships

Commentary

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and health: few gains, some losses, many risks

Research

Partnerships in global health and collaborative governance: lessons learnt from the Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine at the Geneva University Hospitals