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Building Awareness - Health

"To consider the health of humanity on a global scale is rarely part of the medical curriculum, yet understanding the health effects of conflict, poverty (gender, socio-cultural issues) and environmental damage, is essential for doctors practising in our shrinking world" (Medact, 2001)

Global Health Education draws on a number of disciplines including politics, economics, sociology, demography, education and epidemiology for training health professionals to support and develop students' understanding of local, national and international determinants of health and health care delivery. This is achieved by encouraging critical reflection of health factors such as poverty, debt, globalisation, migration, human rights and gender.

Our Global Health Education programme includes working with medical schools in Europe, Africa and Asia to create global doctors, and coordinating a best practice network to influence medical curricula at a strategic level.

Creating Global Doctors

By working with medical schools to deliver our Special Studies Module on Global Health and Development, we enable doctors of the future to develop:

  • Skills, knowledge, values and attitudes to be effective global doctors
  • Mutual understanding between doctor and patients
  • Cultural awareness and openness to cultural diversity
  • Personal commitment to egalitarian values in wealth distribution and health care access and provision

We aim to enable medical students to:

  • Challenge attitudes towards patients, individuals, communities and health care delivery systems.
  • Recognise factors contributing  to global health inequalities.
  • Identify the role of governments, international companies, international organisations and NGOs.
  • Recognise the factors underpinning global inequality and access to health care services.
  • Acknowledge the interdependence within a global health system.
 Raul Pardinaz-Solis working with Leicester SSM students in 2005.

Find out more about the Special Studies Module on Global Health and Development.
Find out more about Pre-Elective Workshops offered to medical students.

Best Practice Network for Global Health

In 2005, Skillshare International called for institutions and organisations working in global health education in the UK to come together and share their experiences. The network aims to fill a communication gap that existed between different groups and individuals working in Global Health Education. It aims to achieve this through networking and advocacy activities. Members include higher education institutions, professional bodies (British Medical Association), NGOs and existing networks.

Find out more about the Best Practice Network.

For further information about our global health education programme, please contact our Development Awareness Officer, Dr Raúl Pardíñaz-Solís, on + 44 (0) 116 257 6629.