HNRS-110 | Global Health Challenges

Full Title: Global Health Challenges

Topic Description:

What are the largest public health challenges facing the world today? What causes these challenges to persist, and what steps can be taken to ensure “health for all”? This course will survey the field of global health by examining global health challenges such as child mortality/undernutrition, HIV and other infectious disease, and heart disease/diabetes/obesity. We will pay particular attention to social aspects of disease causation, studying the cultural, historical, political, and economic differences that lead to inequities in health. We’ll read notable ethnographic and scholarly depictions of global health challenges, critically assess past and current attempts at improving public health outcomes, and, through the use of case studies, research, and inquiry-based writing, learn to combine both medical and cultural knowledge in designing effective public health programs. In addition, we will apply our knowledge via work on a project designed to assist the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Palau.

Counts as Global? Yes

Topic Approved: April 2014