Module Components

• Overview
• Assignments

Topics

• Globalization
• Global Health Actors
• Humanitarian Interventions

NURS 418/NRSG 609 – Essentials & Practice in Global Health Nursing

Module: Introduction to Global Health

Overview

Welcome! This online module will provide an overview of major issues affecting global population health and the role of nursing in global health. Learners will examine the impact of various factors (socio-economic-political-other) on health and health systems in different geographic and cultural contexts—with attention to the implications of these relationships for nursing. This course aims to serve as a fundamental preparation for students interested in pursuing global health nursing. In this module you begin your exploration of global health! In this module you begin your exploration of global health! Try to answer these questions as you go through this module:

Try to answer these questions as you go through this module readings and resources:

1. What is global health?
2. What examples of local health issues can you identify that occur here as well as around the globe?
3. What are examples of interventions to the above issues you identified?
4. How is the role of nursing critical in addressing global health issues?

As the above pictures symbolically represent, in healthcare we often see a patient/ patient population (here, the globe - as this is global health course), and we see ourselves as healthcare professionals who intervene to help others achieve health. We can do this not only by treating and preventing illness, but also by recognizing the social environment and external conditions that directly influence health and address the disparities and inequities we encounter. Nursing, as the most trusted health profession, is grounded in an ethical connection to the health and well-being of individuals, local communities, and populations worldwide. In this course, we will see examples where nurses and other disciplines are working together to realize the story depicted in the images above. However, as you know, health and diseases are linked to many global influences which do not respect boundaries. Global health requires attention to these myriad interconnected issues.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this module, the learner will be able to:

1. Describe some of the current challenges in global health.
2. Describe the Millennium Development Goals and their relation to global health.
3. Identify how globalization has affected global health and the global economy.
4. Describe the major organizational actors in global health and the foci of their global health efforts.
5. Discuss the value of cooperation in addressing global health problems.

Required Readings/Media

• Please refer the module folder to access required readings for this module.

Directions

• Read/view the required reading/media resources within the module.
• Then complete the assignments for the module.