Global health competencies and approaches in medical education: a literature review

Abstract

BackgroundPhysicians today are increasingly faced with healthcare challenges that require an understanding of global health trends and practices, yet little is known about what constitutes appropriate global health training.MethodsA literature review was undertaken to identify competencies and educational approaches for teaching global health in medical schools.ResultsUsing a pre-defined search strategy, 32 articles were identified; 11 articles describing 15 global health competencies for undergraduate medical training were found. The most frequently mentioned competencies included an understanding of: the global burden of disease, travel medicine, healthcare disparities between countries, immigrant health, primary care within diverse cultural settings and skills to better interface with different populations, cultures and healthcare systems. However, no consensus on global health competencies for medical students was apparent. Didactics and experiential learning were the most common educational methods used, mentioned in 12 and 13 articles respectively. Of the 11 articles discussing competencies, 8 linked competencies directly to educational approaches.ConclusionsThis review highlights the imperative to document global health educational competencies and approaches used in medical schools and the need to facilitate greater consensus amongst medical educators on appropriate global health training for future physicians.

Do final‐year medical students have sufficient prescribing competencies? A systematic literature review

“…A clear definition of competencies is important to steer curricular content – specifically, assessment – and students' approach to learning 90. A lack of agreement on the required competencies of students has also been identified in other areas of medical education – for example, global health 91 and nutritional medicine 92. It was not within the scope of the present review to determine why there is a lack of a consensus.…”

Global Health Education in Doctor of Pharmacy Programs

“…18 Battat et al's literature review of global health competencies in medical education revealed that while almost one-third of medical graduates in the United States and Canada participated in a global health experience, there was a need for a standardized global health curriculum. 19 There are potential limitations to this Review. Because of the variation of each program's webpage, a global health component may have been present under different search terms or outside the PharmD program's offered courses that was not captured.…”

Global Experiential and Didactic Education Opportunities at US Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy

“…[1][2][3][4] Academic institutions are integrating global health into their didactic instruction, experiential rotations, and research opportunities as they realize the importance of global engagement and recognize global health as an academic field. 5 A 2011 review of 133 medical schools in the United States reported that 24% have structured programs in global health, 6 and, in 2014, 29% of graduating US medical students took part in a global health experience.…”

“…7 The increased demand for global education opportunities has now led to the exploration of global health educational competencies and approaches by organizations such as the Global Health Education Consortium (GHEC), the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH). 2 The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) recently developed a set of global health competencies that include capacity strengthening, collaborating and partnering, and health equity and social justice among others. 8 Colleges and schools of pharmacy have also responded to the growing interest.…”