Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, University of California, Oakland, OA, USA.
Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Glob Health Action. 2022 Dec 31;15(1):2131967. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2022.2131967.
Global health emerged as a distinct public health discipline within the last two decades. With over 95% of Masters of Global Health degree programmes located in high-income countries (HICs), the area of study has been primarily pursued by White, middle and upperclass, citizens of Europe and North America. In turn, the global health workforce and leadership reflect these same demographics. In this article, we present several key arguments against the current state of global health education: (1) admissions criteria favour HIC applicants; (2) the curriculum is developed with the HIC gaze; (3) student practicums can cause unintended harms in low- and middle-income country communities. We argue that global health education in its current form must be dismantled. We conclude with suggestions for how global health education may be reimagined to shift from a space of privilege and colonial practice to a space that recognises the strengths of experiences and knowledge above and beyond those from HICs.
全球卫生在过去二十年中作为一门独特的公共卫生学科出现。超过 95%的全球卫生硕士学位课程都设在高收入国家(HICs),该领域的学习主要由欧洲和北美的白种人、中上层阶级和公民追求。反过来,全球卫生劳动力和领导层也反映了这些相同的人口统计学特征。在本文中,我们提出了几个反对当前全球卫生教育状况的关键论点:(1)入学标准有利于 HIC 申请人;(2)课程是用 HIC 的视角开发的;(3)学生实习可能会给低收入和中等收入国家的社区带来意想不到的伤害。我们认为,目前的全球卫生教育形式必须被打破。最后,我们提出了一些建议,说明如何重新构想全球卫生教育,从一个特权和殖民实践的空间转变为一个承认来自 HIC 以外的经验和知识的优势的空间。