Health and Community
Itineraries Curriculum
Download the 2009/2010 IHP Catalog
Itineraries
Spring 2009 #1:Switzerland, India, China, South Africa
NEW! Spring 2009 #2:United States, Tanzania, Vietnam
Spring 2010 #1:Switzerland, India, China, South Africa
Spring 2010 #2:United States, Vietnam, South Africa/Mozambique, Brazil
IHP’s Health and Community study abroad programs offer a comparative perspective on some of the most challenging health issues around the world. These intellectually stimulating and experientially rich programs can jump-start your graduate education or career in public health, medicine, anthropology, international development or a related field.
Take on big questions:
What keeps people and communities healthy?
How can a deeper understanding of culture transform our view of health?
Why do health disparities within and across countries widen, even as technological “fixes” increase?
What can be done about the health divide—between rich and poor, urban and rural—that exists in many countries?
How do nations define their responsibility to provide quality health care to their citizens?
Is health a fundamental human right?
How do grassroots activism and top-down approaches conflict with or complement one another?
Participants in IHP’s Health and Community programs learn about the ways that individuals and communities respond to the health consequences of their biological, ecological, economic, political, and socio-cultural environments. In each country, we explore:
- an infectious or chronic disease that has a profound international impact, such as HIV/AIDS, TB or malaria, and compare how it is manifested and addressed differently within various populations;
- a specific environmental challenge to health--water, air, land, and agriculture--and explore it in the context of local culture and politics, national policies, and global forces; and
- family health and wellness across the life span, with in depth attention to women, children, youth, or the elderly; and
- alternative systems of health and healing in the context of globalization.
Students live and study in city neighborhoods and rural villages, allowing for a deeper understanding of today’s growing rural/urban divide.
Students gain skills in critical and comparative thinking, while gaining practical knowledge about the health impacts of globalization; comparative health systems, governance and policy-making; public health problems and innovative strategies to address them; and field-based research methods. They will listen to the multiple voices of people in local communities, governing bodies, and non-governmental agencies.
Both programs include a full complement of guest lectures, coursework and field visits. In addition, students have a week in each country to explore, in-depth, a topic of their interest, through case studies and presentations. Homestays in host communities and IHP’s partnerships with local NGOs and universities allow students to connect with the issues on a deep cultural and personal level. IHP’s Health and Community programs give future health care leaders the confidence to ask important questions and to work toward sustainable and just solutions.
The spring semester usually begins in mid-January and ends in mid-May.
16 CREDITS / COURSES:
• Globalization and Health
• Health, Culture and Community
• Public Health: From Biology to Policy
• Community Health Research Methods
Which program is right for you?
We encourage you to indicate your first and second program choice on your application. While the programs will have many themes in common, students will focus on the most pertinent topics in each location. You may find that one of the programs is better suited to your particular areas of interest than the other.
Please also go to http://ihp.edu/programs/hc/itinerary.htm to read more about the itineraries.
Accommodations: During the Health and Community program, the majority of time will be spent in home stays although there will be a mix of other group accommodations throughout the semester.
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