Work in Progress: Engineering Health Equity: Perspective and Pedagogy of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning and Impact on Learners’ Social Identity

Abstract

This research explored the beliefs related to the health disparities, systems, and innovation of honors/engineering students enrolled in a course on Health Equity. This course aims to bring together undergraduate students across disciplines from engineering, public health, pharmacy, anthropology, sociology, and other social and basic sciences to learn from each other through co-designing solutions to address health disparities. The Global Learning Short Scale Plus (G.L.S 2+ ) was used to assess students' beliefs related to global self awareness, cultural diversity, personal and social responsibility, understanding global systems, and applying knowledge to the contemporary global context. Qualitative and quantitative analyses showed Personal and Social Responsibility was a predominant factor influencing students' beliefs. Numerous experiences were identified as drivers of involvement or action with an interest in the global systems' factors.