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Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Learning Objective 1: describe strategies for teaching global health online to undergraduate and graduate nursing students
Learning Objective 2: develop course content for a Global Health course syllabi appropriate for undergraduate or graduate nursing students
The complexities of the spread of disease require nurses to think beyond their own personal communities to national and global levels. International migration will persist with projections of 40 million individuals being displaced over the next 20 years. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the need for nurses to become knowledgeable and involved in global health issues will become more relevant. Nationally, nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers, which allows nursing the opportunity to serve as potential change agents. Nurses should be encouraged to become involved in collaborative activities and learn culturally acceptable ways to promote, advocate, and commit to making a difference in health and healthcare in the broader international community. Despite increases in international activity, references to global health in nursing curricula are limited. Nurse educators can prepare nurses to take a leading role in global health by offering courses that will broaden our views beyond Western philosophical approaches to health care. The purpose of this presentation is to describe some of the teaching strategies used in an online elective global health course for undergraduate and graduate nursing students. One example of a teaching strategy used was a weekly online dialogue with a variety of healthcare providers from Africa, South Korea, China, Italy and other countries. Students developed a set of questions for the international guests and faculty either posted the questions online or emailed the questions to the international guest speakers. Examples of Unit/Module topics included: Cultural Beliefs and Values, Environmental Factors, Current Global Health Issues and Research Priorities, Infectious Disease, Maternal Child Health, Mental Health, Chronic Disease, International Health Policy, Impact of Healthcare Technology, and Professional Organizations involved in global health issues. Student evaluation of the course was positive with many students requesting that similar courses be offered in the future.