Course number: GH 571
Winter 2014: Essentials of Clinical Care and Capacity Building in Low Income Countries
Course Information:
Course credits: 2
Graduate students, residents and fellows
Undergraduates welcome by instructor approval
Instructors:
• Joseph Zunt, Associate Professor, Neurology/Global Health, Harborview Medical Center; Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Center for AIDS Research
• Suzinne Pak-Gorstein, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics; Harborview Medical Center; Global Health Pediatric Residency Pathways program, Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Contact information:
Joseph Zunt
UW campus mailbox: 359775
Tel: 206 744 3715 / Fax: 206 744 8787
Email: jzunt@u.washington.edu
Suzinne Pak-Gorstein
UW campus mailbox: 359774
Tel: 206 744 9512 / Fax: 206 744 9862
Email: spakgor@u.washington.edu
Course times and locations:
Location T-473 Health Sciences Building
Monday, 10:00 – 11:50 am
Description of course:
The course will provide an interdisciplinary case-based forum of presentations by local and international guest lecturers and class discussion to highlight the realities of providing effective healthcare in a variety of global low-income settings. The talks will be given by experts from a variety of disciplines including engineering, rehabilitation, nursing, medicine, and surgery. Each lecture will be organized and structured in a case-based format covering salient issues in prevention, socioeconomic underpinnings, diagnosis, and management of medical and surgical conditions in resource-limited settings; and sustainable strategies to strengthen existing capacity for addressing these conditions within low-income countries through partnerships. Required reading materials will be provided by the session speakers prior to each session. Students are expected to read required materials, attend lectures, participate in discussions in class and online, and prepare a small group presentation.
Targeted students:
Professional graduate students of medicine, nursing, global health, public health, social work, dentistry, and pharmacy interested in improving health care service delivery in low-to-middle income countries within resource-limited settings. The course will also be offered to off-campus students, residents, and fellows through live as well as asynchronous web-casting.
Course Learning Objectives:
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Describe the epidemiology, trends and major causes of mortality and morbidity with respect to each session topic.
• Compare health care delivery settings in low-income countries; including hospitals, clinics and the community, and the roles of health care providers.
GH 571 – Winter 2014 Page 2
• Define the strengths and weaknesses of existing interdisciplinary approaches to provide medical and surgical conditions as well as preventive care with respect to providing sustainable improvements in health and healthcare capacity in low-income countries.
• Critically explain the history and current role of US-based efforts to provide medical and surgical support to low-income countries
• Compare and contrast key components of successful models for medical education and training in low-income countries
• Explain the relative impact of strategies to treat and prevent surgical and non-surgical medical conditions in a variety of income settings
• Summarize practical aspects of conducting effective clinical work in resource-poor settings, including critical ethical considerations, preparation, safety, and evaluation of long-term impact on health outcomes in the country
Grading:
Credit/No Credit – based on class participation/on-line participation, and final group presentation. Those participating through asynchronous web-casting will be evaluated by responses to questions provided weekly and on-line participation.
Group Presentation:
Students will be assigned into small groups to develop an inter-disciplinary approach to a global health issue in a specific population. Groups will select a specific case and population based on course readings, presentations or previous experience. Areas to cover in the approach will include measures to ensure sustainability, efforts to strengthen existing human capacity, systems-based solutions, and impact assessment. The group will present the background of their case and “solution” in class on the final day of the course. Presentations should be 15 minutes. For those groups who are off-campus the presentations may be pre-recorded using the powerpoint record option – instructions will be provided.
