WVU Health Sciences students participate in global health pilot course
Members of the West Virginia University Health Sciences community recently had an opportunity to participate in the pilot offering of Pillars of Global Health, a course designed to establish baseline understanding of global health principles.
Jointly developed by Child and Family Health International and Aperian Global, the self-paced, virtual course currently consists of six learning modules, including What is Global Health, Planetary and One Health, Global Health Ethics, Cross-Cultural Effectiveness and Adaptability, Equity, Inclusion and Health Disparities, and Social Determinants of Health. Two additional modules, Global Burden of Disease and Global Health Systems, are being added to the course in time for its launch in early 2023.
“Child and Family Health International maintains the gold standard in pre-departure training for global health projects,” said Chris Martin, M.D., director of the Health Sciences Global Engagement Office. “Having this connection with the Pillars course is just one more option for students and faculty at WVU to augment our existing offerings and make the most of every international learning experience that we offer.”
WVU was among six institutions participating in the pilot course.
“It's been an honor to partner with WVU during the pilot stage of the forthcoming Pillars of Global Health: Building Competencies for Global Health Engagement,” said Robin Young, executive director of Child and Family Health International. “Throughout the multi-month pilot program, we received invaluable feedback from WVU students, faculty and staff that will help us to improve the modules and finalize the offering for a full-scale launch.”
Nearly twenty students from across the University accepted the invitation to participate in the pilot course, including Leann Baker, a senior exercise physiology major from Keyser, West Virginia, whose interest in completing an international experience in the future compelled her to enroll.
“I like the idea of getting to experience a new culture and learn from others along the way,” Baker said. “I think the course is great for anyone considering study abroad because it covers topics they may not think of before traveling, like planet health and health ethics. It met my expectations in that it gave me more insight into how we can work to overcome these problems.”
In the future, students will have the opportunity to complete the program as part of their undergraduate or graduate global health course or scholarly concentration or integrate the modules into their pre-departure training.