MODULE 1
Q1
Defining international or global health is important and some consider global health synonymous with public health. Select one of the following two statements:
1. Global health is public health requiring similar training and research methods.
2. Global health is a separate discipline requiring specific training and research methods.
Identify at least two arguments that support the selected statement and provide sources to support those arguments. Identify and discuss one historical event that is important in how global health is understood today and how that event supports your argument. For one of your substantive responses, identify another classmate that selected the opposite statement and provide at least one point of agreement and one point of disagreement.?
Q2
Poverty is central to health and development in low-income and middle-income countries. State your definition of poverty prior to studying public health. Based on this definition, what would be the focus of poverty alleviation solutions? Based on the relational and spiritual definition of poverty, discuss how the focus of solutions would change to include a holistic approach. Identify an example of a health program or solution that integrates a relational definition of poverty. Watch the video on “Defining Poverty” to help in responding to this discussion question.
RESOURCES
Read Chapter 4 in For the Love of God: Principles and Practice of Compassion in Missions.
Read “The Stages of International (Global) Health: Histories of Successes or Successes of History?” by Birn, from Global Public Health (2009). URL:https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbl&AN=RN243322709&site=eds-live&scope=site
Watch the “Introduction to PUB 655” video in the Participatory Community Development playlist, located in the Student Success Center. This video will explain the overall purpose and focus for this course. The course begins with a broad perspective and then concentrates specifically on engaging communities and vulnerable populations with a focus on Christian health missions. URL: https://www.gcumedia.com/lms-resources/student-success-center/v3.1/#/media-element/CONHCP/002E95E4-E032-E811-8F95-005056A072B6
Watch the “Defining Poverty” video in the Participatory Community Development playlist, located in the Student Success Center, in preparation for responding to the discussion question in this topic. The video provides an alternative definition of poverty based on relationships rather than only material need. This definition informs one’s approach to poverty and engaging lower-income communities. URL: https://www.gcumedia.com/lms-resources/student-success-center/v3.1/#/media-element/CONHCP/002E95E4-E032-E811-8F95-005056A072B6
Read “Towards a Common Definition of Global Health” by Koplan, Bond, Merson, Reddy, Rodriguez, Sewankambo, and Wasserheit, from The Lancet (2009).URL: https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2809%2960332-9
Read “Global Health Is Public Health” by Fried, Bentley, Buekens, Burke, Frenk, Klag, and Spencer, from The Lancet (2010). URL: http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(10)60203-6.pdf
Read “Poverty Is a Lie,” by Todd, from Mission Frontiers (2011). URL: https://www.missionfrontiers.org/pdfs/33-4-poverty-is-a-lie.pdf
Read “What Is Poverty?” located on The Chalmers Center website. URL: https://www.chalmers.org/our-work/redefining-poverty/what-is-poverty
Watch “Helping Without Hurting – Part 1: Reconsidering the Meaning of Poverty – LifeChurch.tv,” by Life.Church (2014), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a339VZRE3CM
Read “The History of Foreign Aid,” by Phillips (2013), located on the ReliefWeb website. URL: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/history-foreign-aid
Read “How AIDS Invented Global Health,” from New England Journal of Medicine (2013). URL: http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp1305297
Read “Global Health Players: Organizations Involved in International Health,” located on the Global Health Education website. URL: https://globalhealtheducation.org/56_nutrition_in_global_health/
Read “Donor Motives for Foreign Aid,” by Bandyopadhyay and Vermann, from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review (2013). URL: https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/review/13/07/bandyopadhyay.pdf
