Structural competency and global health education

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the critical need to reimagine and repair the broken systems of global health. Specifically, the pandemic demonstrates the hollowness of the global health rhetoric of equity, the weaknesses of a health security-driven global health agenda, and the negative health impacts of power differentials not only globally, but also regionally and locally. This article analyses the effects of these inequities and calls on governments, multilateral agencies, universities, and NGOs to engage in true collaboration and partnership in this historic moment. Before this pandemic spreads furtherincluding in the Global Southwith potentially extreme impact, we must work together to rectify the field and practice of global health.

An analysis of social determinants of health and structural competency training in global emergency medicine fellowship programs in the United States

“…In these contexts, SC curriculum development is particularly essential. 15,17 The mode of teaching in these programs is often hands-on and facilitated by visiting faculty and via teleconferencing. 18 Global emergency medicine (GEM) fellowships have been developed to provide advanced training in international skills and systems development to residency-trained emergency physicians.…”

Neutrality, conflict, and structural determinants of health in a Jerusalem emergency department

“…In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the structural determinants of health [ 19 – 21 ]. This concept relates to a variety of upstream, macro-level factors that produce and maintain health inequities, often in relation to race, ethnicity, religion, religiosity, class, citizenship status, language, geography, gender, and age.…”

“…Structural competency allows healthcare professionals to understand the process by which structurally-generated health inequalities are perceived as natural and deserved rather than unjust and imposed, and are consequently reproduced and perpetuated [ 19 , 53 ]. This understanding "opens up the possibility for challenging ideologies of inequality that justify a pathogenic status quo" [ 19 ].…”

“…Structural competency allows healthcare professionals to understand the process by which structurally-generated health inequalities are perceived as natural and deserved rather than unjust and imposed, and are consequently reproduced and perpetuated [ 19 , 53 ]. This understanding "opens up the possibility for challenging ideologies of inequality that justify a pathogenic status quo" [ 19 ]. We propose that broadening the concept of structural competency to include structural determinants that are rooted in political conflicts can challenge the naturalization of these determinants which reproduces health inequity in conflictual settings.…”

Blueprints to Accelerate the Student’s Academic Motivation and Engagement in Health Education

“…Health education gives opportunities to learn about many health subjects. Health education techniques are adapted to the demographics of the people who will benefit from them [6]. In an appropriate environment, health education gives information to target audiences on specific health subjects, including the health advantages and hazards they face, as well as tools to develop capacity and promote behavior change.…”