It Takes a Village: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Preparing Internal Medicine Residents to Care for Patients at the Intersection of Women's Health, Gender-Affirming Care, and Health Disparities.

Objective: To create an interdisciplinary curriculum to teach key topics at the intersection of women's health, gender-affirming care, and health disparities to internal medicine (IM) residents. Materials and Methods: A core team of faculty from IM, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Surgery partnered with faculty and fellows from other disciplines and with community experts to design and deliver the curriculum. The resulting curriculum consisted of themed half-day modules, each consisting of three to four inter-related topics, updated and repeated on an ∼3-year cycle. Health equity was a focus of all topics. Module delivery used diverse interactive learning strategies. Modules have been presented to ∼175 residents annually, beginning in 2015. To assess the curriculum, we used formative evaluation methods, using primarily anonymous, electronic surveys, and collected quantitative and qualitative data. Most surveys assessed resident learning by quantifying residents' self-reported comfort with skills taught in the module pre- and postsession. Results: Of 131 residents who completed an evaluation in 2022/23, 121 (90%) "somewhat" or "strongly" agreed with their readiness to perform a range of skills taught in the module. In all previous years where pre- and postsurveys were used to evaluate modules, we observed a consistent meaningful increase in the proportion of residents reporting high levels of comfort with the material. Residents particularly valued interactive teaching methods, and direct learning from community members and peers. Conclusion: Our interdisciplinary curriculum was feasible, valued by trainees, and increased resident learning. The curriculum provides a template to address equity issues across a spectrum of women's and gender-affirming care conditions that can be used by other institutions in implementing similar curricula.

Self-care and healthcare seeking practices among patients with hypertension and diabetes in rural Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Implementing effective self-care practices for non-communicable diseases (NCD) prevents complications and morbidity. However, scanty evidence exists among patients in rural sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We sought to describe and compare existing self-care practices among patients with hypertension (HTN) and diabetes (DM) in rural Uganda. METHODS: Between April and August 2019, we executed a cross-sectional investigation involving 385 adult patients diagnosed with HTN and/or DM. These participants were systematically randomly selected from three outpatient NCD clinics in the Nakaseke district. Data collection was facilitated using a structured survey that inquired about participants' healthcare-seeking patterns, access to self-care services, education on self-care, medication compliance, and overall health-related quality of life. We utilized Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses to discern disparities in self-care practices, education, and healthcare-seeking actions based on the patient's conditions. RESULTS: Of the 385 participants, 39.2% had only DM, 36.9% had only HTN, and 23.9% had both conditions (HTN/DM). Participants with DM or both conditions reported more clinic visits in the past year than those with only HTN (P = 0.005). Similarly, most DM-only and HTN/DM participants monitored their weight monthly, unlike those with only HTN (P<0.0001). Participants with DM or HTN/DM were more frequently educated about their health condition(s), dietary habits, and weight management than those with only HTN. Specifically, education about their conditions yielded adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of 5.57 for DM-only and 4.12 for HTN/DM. Similarly, for diet, aORs were 2.77 (DM-only) and 4.21 (HTN/DM), and for weight management, aORs were 3.62 (DM-only) and 4.02 (HTN/DM). Medication adherence was notably higher in DM-only participants (aOR = 2.19). Challenges in self-care were significantly more reported by women (aOR = 2.07) and those above 65 years (aOR = 5.91), regardless of their specific condition(s). CONCLUSION: Compared to rural Ugandans with HTN-only, participants with DM had greater utilization of healthcare services, exposure to self-care education, and adherence to medicine and self-monitoring behaviors. These findings should inform ongoing efforts to improve and integrate NCD service delivery in rural SSA.

Bringing Generalists to Global Health: a Missed Opportunity and Call to Action.

The credo of the generalist physician has always been the promotion of health for all, in every aspect: not just multiple vulnerable organ systems, but multiple social, cultural, and political factors that contribute to poor health and exacerbate health inequity. In recent years, the field of global health has also adopted this same mission: working across both national and clinical specialty borders to improve health for all and end health disparities worldwide. Yet within the Society for General Internal Medicine, and among American generalists, engagement in global health, both within and outside the USA, remains uncommon. We see this gap as an opportunity, because in fact generalists in America already have the skills and experience that global health badly needs. SGIM could promote generalists to global health's vanguard, with three core steps. First, we generalists must continue to integrate health for the vulnerable into our domestic work, generating care models applicable in low-resource settings around the globe. Conversely, we must also engage with and implement international ideas and solutions for universal access to primary care for vulnerable patients in the USA. And lastly, we must build platforms to connect ourselves with colleagues worldwide to exchange these learnings.

Principles for task shifting hypertension and diabetes screening and referral: a qualitative study exploring patient, community health worker and healthcare professional perceptions in rural Uganda.

BACKGROUND: A shortage of healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) combined with a rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like hypertension and diabetes mellitus has resulted in increasing gaps in care delivery for NCDs. As community health workers (CHWs) often play an established role in LMIC healthcare systems, these programs could be leveraged to strengthen healthcare access. The objective of this study was to explore perceptions of task shifting screening and referral for hypertension and diabetes to CHWs in rural Uganda. METHODS: This qualitative, exploratory study was conducted in August 2021 among patients, CHWs and healthcare professionals. Through 24 in-depth interviews and ten focus group discussions, we investigated perceptions of task shifting to CHWs in the screening and referral of NCDs in Nakaseke, rural Uganda. This study employed a holistic approach targeting stakeholders involved in the implementation of task shifting programs. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically guided by the framework method. RESULTS: Analysis identified elements likely to be required for successful program implementation in this context. Fundamental drivers of CHW programs included structured supervision, patients' access to care through CHWs, community involvement, remuneration and facilitation, as well as building CHW knowledge and skills through training. Additional enablers comprised specific CHW characteristics such as confidence, commitment and motivation, as well as social relations and empathy. Lastly, socioemotional aspects such as trust, virtuous behavior, recognition in the community, and the presence of mutual respect were reported to be critical to the success of task shifting programs. CONCLUSION: CHWs are perceived as a useful resource when task shifting NCD screening and referral for hypertension and diabetes from facility-based healthcare workers. Before implementation of a task shifting program, it is essential to consider the multiple layers of needs portrayed in this study. This ensures a successful program that overcomes community concerns and may serve as guidance to implement task shifting in similar settings.

Protocol: Implementation and evaluation of an adolescent-mediated intervention to improve glycemic control and diabetes self-management among Samoan adults.

BACKGROUND: Diagnoses of Type 2 Diabetes in the United States have more than doubled in the last two decades. One minority group at disproportionate risk are Pacific Islanders who face numerous barriers to prevention and self-care. To address the need for prevention and treatment in this group, and building on the family-centered culture, we will pilot test an adolescent-mediated intervention designed to improve the glycemic control and self-care practices of a paired adult family member with diagnosed diabetes. METHODS: We will conduct a randomized controlled trial in American Samoa among n = 160 dyads (adolescent without diabetes, adult with diabetes). Adolescents will receive either a six-month diabetes intervention or a leadership and life skills-focused control curriculum. Aside from research assessments we will have no contact with the adults in the dyad who will proceed with their usual care. To test our hypothesis that adolescents will be effective conduits of diabetes knowledge and will support their paired adult in the adoption of self-care strategies, our primary efficacy outcomes will be adult glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors (BMI, blood pressure, waist circumference). Secondarily, since we believe exposure to the intervention may encourage positive behavior change in the adolescent themselves, we will measure the same outcomes in adolescents. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, after active intervention (six months post-randomization) and at 12-months post-randomization to examine maintenance effects. To determine potential for sustainability and scale up, we will examine intervention acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, reach, and cost. DISCUSSION: This study will explore Samoan adolescents' ability to act as agents of familial health behavior change. Intervention success would produce a scalable program with potential for replication in other family-centered ethnic minority groups across the US who are the ideal beneficiaries of innovations to reduce chronic disease risk and eliminate health disparities.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Academic Global Health Programs: Results of a Large International Survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in international communications and travel for academic global health programs (AGHPs) in both high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Given the importance of international travel and communication to AGHPs, the pandemic has likely had considerable impact on the education, research, and administrative components of these programs. To date, no substantive study has determined the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on AGHPs in HICs and LMICs. This study assessed the impacts and resultant adaptations of AGHPs to pandemic realities with the goal of sharing strategies and approaches. Methods: This study applied a mixed methods sequential explanatory design to survey AGHPs in HICs and LMICs about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on three program domains: education, research, and administration. First, we surveyed a range of AGHP stakeholders to capture quantitative data on the pandemic's impact. Subsequently we conducted semi-structured interviews with select survey participants to gather qualitative data expanding on specific survey responses. Data from both phases were then compared and interpreted together to develop conclusions and suggest adaptive/innovative approaches for AGHPs. Results: AGHPs in both HICs and LMICs were significantly impacted by the pandemic in all three domains, though in different ways. While education initiatives managed to adapt by pivoting towards virtual learning, research programs were impacted more negatively by the disruptions in communication and international travel. The impact of the pandemic on scholarly output as well as on funding for education and research was quite variable, although LMIC programs were more negatively impacted. Administratively, AGHPs implemented a range of safety and risk mitigation strategies and showed a low risk tolerance for international travel. The pandemic posed many challenges but also revealed opportunities for AGHPs. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted AGHPs in HICs and LMICs in expected and unexpected ways. Programs noted some unanticipated reductions in education program funding, negative impacts on research programs, and reduced scholarly output. Many programs reported well-coordinated adaptive responses to the pandemic including, for instance, virtual (in place of in-person) collaboration in research. The pandemic will likely have lasting impacts with regard to education, research collaborations, and administration of programs.

Patient preferences for facility-based management of hypertension and diabetes in rural Uganda: a discrete choice experiment.

OBJECTIVE: To explore how respondents with common chronic conditions-hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM)-make healthcare-seeking decisions. SETTING: Three health facilities in Nakaseke District, Uganda. DESIGN: Discrete choice experiment (DCE). PARTICIPANTS: 496 adults with HTN and/or DM. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Willingness to pay for changes in DCE attributes: getting to the facility, interactions with healthcare providers, availability of medicines for condition, patient peer-support groups; and education at the facility. RESULTS: Respondents were willing to pay more to attend facilities that offer peer-support groups, friendly healthcare providers with low staff turnover and greater availabilities of medicines. Specifically, we found the average respondent was willing to pay an additional 77 121 Ugandan shillings (UGX) for facilities with peer-support groups over facilities with none; and 49 282 UGX for 1 month of medicine over none, all other things being equal. However, respondents would have to compensated to accept facilities that were further away or offered health education. Specifically, the average respondent would have to be paid 3929 UGX to be willing to accept each additional kilometre they would have to travel to the facilities, all other things being equal. Similarly, the average respondent would have to be paid 60 402 UGX to accept facilities with some health education, all other things being equal. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed significant preferences for health facilities based on the availability of medicines, costs of treatment and interactions with healthcare providers. Understanding patient preferences can inform intervention design to optimise healthcare service delivery for patients with HTN and DM in rural Uganda and other low-resource settings.

Global Health Crisis, Global Health Response: How Global Health Experiences Prepared North American Physicians for the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic plunged hospital systems into resource-deprived conditions unprecedented since the 1918 flu pandemic. It brought forward concerns around ethical management of scarcity, racism and distributive justice, cross-disciplinary collaboration, provider wellness, and other difficult themes. We, a group of medical educators and global health educators and clinicians, use the education literature to argue that experience gained through global health activities has greatly contributed to the effectiveness of the COVID-19 pandemic response in North American institutions. Support for global health educational activities is a valuable component of medical training, as they build skills and perspectives that are critical to responding to a pandemic or other health system cataclysm. We frame our argument as consideration of three questions that required rapid, effective responses in our home institutions during the pandemic: How can our health system function with new limitations on essential resources? How do we work at high intensity and volume, on a new disease, within new and evolving systems, while still providing high-quality, patient-centered care? And, how do we help personnel manage an unprecedented level of morbidity and mortality, disproportionately affecting the poor and marginalized, including moral difficulties of perceived care rationing?

The rural Uganda non-communicable disease (RUNCD) study: prevalence and risk factors of self-reported NCDs from a cross sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are an increasing global concern, with morbidity and mortality largely occurring in low- and middle-income settings. We established the prospective Rural Uganda Non-Communicable Disease (RUNCD) cohort to longitudinally characterize the NCD prevalence, progression, and complications in rural Africa. METHODS: We conducted a population-based census for NCD research. We systematically enrolled adults in each household among three sub-counties of the larger Nakaseke Health district and collected baseline demographic, health status, and self-reported chronic disease information. We present our data on self-reported chronic disease, as stratified by age, sex, educational attainment, and sub-county. RESULTS: A total of 16,694 adults were surveyed with 10,563 (63%) respondents enrolled in the self-reported study. Average age was 37.8 years (SD = 16.5) and 45% (7481) were male. Among self-reported diseases, hypertension (HTN) was most prevalent (6.3%). 1.1% of participants reported a diagnosis of diabetes, 1.1% asthma, 0.7% COPD, and 0.4% kidney disease. 2.4% of the population described more than one NCD. Self-reported HTN was significantly higher in the peri-urban subcounty than in the other two rural sub-counties (p < 0.001); diagnoses for all other diseases did not differ significantly between sub-counties. Odds for self-reported HTN increased significantly with age (OR = 1.87 per 10 years of age, 95% CI 1.78-1.96). Male sex was associated with lower odds of reporting asthma (OR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.34-0.82) or HTN (OR = 0.31, 95% CI 0.26-0.40). CONCLUSIONS: The RUNCD will establish one of the largest NCD patient cohorts in rural Africa. First analysis highlights the feasibility of systematically enrolling large numbers of adults living in a rural Ugandan district. In addition, our study demonstrates low levels of self-reported NCDs compared to the nation-wide established levels, emphasizing the need to better educate, characterize, and care for the majority of rural communities.

Social Support for Self-Care: Patient Strategies for Managing Diabetes and Hypertension in Rural Uganda.

Background: Low-income countries suffer a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Self-care practices are crucial for successfully managing NCDs to prevent complications. However, little is known about how patients practice self-care in resource-limited settings. Objective: We sought to understand self-care efforts and their facilitators among patients with diabetes and hypertension in rural Uganda. Methods: Between April and June 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional qualitative study among adult patients from outpatient NCD clinics at three health facilities in Uganda. We conducted in-depth interviews exploring self-care practices for hypertension and/or diabetes and used content analysis to identify emergent themes. Results: Nineteen patients participated. Patients said they preferred conventional medicines as their first resort, but often used traditional medicines to mitigate the impact of inconsistent access to prescribed medicines or as a supplement to those medicines. Patients adopted a wide range of vernacular practices to supplement treatment or replace unavailable diagnostic tests, such as tasting urine to gauge blood-sugar level. Finally, patients sought and received both instrumental and emotional support for self-care activities from networks of family and peers. Patients saw their children as their most reliable source of support facilitating self-care, especially as a source of money for medicines, transport and home necessities. Conclusion: Patients valued conventional medicines but engaged in varied self-care practices. They depended upon networks of social support from family and peers to facilitate self-care. Interventions to improve self-care may be more effective if they improve access to prescribed medicines and engage or enhance patients' social support networks.

A Broader View of Risk to Health Care Workers: Perspectives on Supporting Vulnerable Health Care Professional Households During COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted both that frontline workers face a new set of personal hazards in health care settings and that there are not well-established recommendations to address the broader risks to these workers and their families. Particularly vulnerable households include dual health care professional households, single-parent health care professional households, and households with health care professionals responsible for a high-risk family member (i.e., an older adult or immunocompromised person). While the demographics of these households are heterogeneous, it is expected that the professional and personal concerns specific to COVID-19 will be similar. These concerns include family safety, balancing full-time work with home-based schooling for children, the looming threat of illness to 1 or both partners, the potential of infecting high-risk family members, and the challenges of planning for the future during uncertain times. To elucidate these concerns in their department, the authors sought input from colleagues in dual health care professional households through an open-ended email communication. Respondents expressed a range of concerns centered on balancing professional and family responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this commentary, the authors propose several recommendations in the areas of support networks, leadership and culture, and operations and logistics that health care institutions can adopt to minimize the burden on these vulnerable households during states of emergency. The successful implementation of these recommendations hinges on creating a work environment in which all health care providers feel comfortable voicing their concerns.

Global Health Education in the Time of COVID-19: An Opportunity to Restructure Relationships and Address Supremacy.

Global health and its predecessors, tropical medicine and international health, have historically been driven by the agendas of institutions in high-income countries (HICs), with power dynamics that have disadvantaged partner institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Since the 2000s, however, the academic global health community has been moving toward a focus on health equity and reexamining the dynamics of global health education (GHE) partnerships. Whereas GHE partnerships have largely focused on providing opportunities for learners from HIC institutions, LMIC institutions are now seeking more equitable experiences for their trainees. Additionally, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic underscore already important lessons about the value of bidirectional educational exchange, as regions gain new insights from one another regarding strategies to impact health outcomes. Interruptions in experiential GHE programs due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions provide an opportunity to reflect on existing GHE systems, to consider the opportunities and dynamics of these partnerships, and to redesign these systems for the equitable benefit of the various partners. In this commentary, the authors offer recommendations for beginning this process of change, with an emphasis on restructuring GHE relationships and addressing supremacist attitudes at both the systemic and individual levels.

Low- and Middle-Income Country Host Perceptions of Short-Term Experiences in Global Health: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: Stakeholders have expressed concerns regarding the impact of visiting trainees and physicians from high-income countries (HICs) providing education and/or short-term clinical care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This systematic review aimed to summarize LMIC host perceptions of visiting trainees and physicians from HICs during short-term experiences in global health (STEGH). METHOD: In September 2018 then again in August 2020, the authors searched 7 databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, Cochrane Library, Global Index Medicus) for peer-reviewed studies that described LMIC host perceptions of STEGH. They extracted information pertaining to study design, participant demographics, participant perceptions, representation of LMICs and HICs, and HIC visitors' roles and used thematic synthesis to code the text, develop descriptive themes, and generate analytical themes. RESULTS: Of the 4,020 studies identified, 17 met the inclusion criteria. In total, the studies included 448 participants, of which 395 (88%) represented LMICs. The authors identified and organized 42 codes under 8 descriptive themes. They further organized these descriptive themes into 4 analytical themes related to STEGH: (1) sociocultural and contextual differences, (2) institutional and programmatic components, (3) impact on host institutions and individuals, and (4) visitor characteristics and conduct. CONCLUSIONS: STEGH can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on LMIC host institutions and individuals. The authors translated these findings into a set of evidence-based best practices for STEGH that provide specific guidance for LMIC and HIC stakeholders. Moving forward, LMIC and HIC institutions must work together to focus on the quality of their relationships and create conditions in which all stakeholders feel empowered to openly communicate to ensure equity and mutual benefit for all parties.

A Systematic Review of Advocacy Curricula in Graduate Medical Education.

BACKGROUND: Professionalism standards encourage physicians to participate in public advocacy on behalf of societal health and well-being. While the number of publications of advocacy curricula for GME-level trainees has increased, there has been no formal effort to catalog them. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the existing literature on curricula for teaching advocacy to GME-level trainees and synthesize the results to provide a resource for programs interested in developing advocacy curricula. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify articles published in English that describe advocacy curricula for graduate medical education trainees in the USA and Canada current to September 2017. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full texts to identify articles meeting our inclusion and exclusion criteria, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. We abstracted information and themes on curriculum development, implementation, and sustainability. Learning objectives, educational content, teaching methods, and evaluations for each curriculum were also extracted. RESULTS: After reviewing 884 articles, we identified 38 articles meeting our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Curricula were offered across a variety of specialties, with 84% offered in primary care specialties. There was considerable heterogeneity in the educational content of included advocacy curriculum, ranging from community partnership to legislative advocacy. Common facilitators of curriculum implementation included the American Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements, institutional support, and preexisting faculty experience. Common barriers were competing curricular demands, time constraints, and turnover in volunteer faculty and community partners. Formal evaluation revealed that advocacy curricula were acceptable to trainees and improved knowledge, attitudes, and reported self-efficacy around advocacy. DISCUSSION: Our systematic review of the medical education literature identified several advocacy curricula for graduate medical education trainees. These curricula provide templates for integrating advocacy education into GME-level training programs across specialties, but more work needs to be done to define standards and expectations around GME training for this professional activity.

Challenges to hypertension and diabetes management in rural Uganda: a qualitative study with patients, village health team members, and health care professionals.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes are expected to increase in sub-Saharan Africa over the next decade. Some studies have documented that lifestyle factors and lack of awareness are directly influencing the control of these diseases. Yet, few studies have attempted to understand the barriers to control of these conditions in rural settings. The main objective of this study was to understand the challenges to hypertension and diabetes care in rural Uganda. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 patients with hypertension and/or diabetes, 11 health care professionals (HCPs), and 12 community health workers (known as village health team members [VHTs]) in Nakaseke District, Uganda. Data were coded using NVivo software and analyzed using a thematic approach. RESULTS: The results replicated several findings from other settings, and identified some previously undocumented challenges including patients' knowledge gaps regarding the preventable aspects of HTN and DM, patients' mistrust in the Ugandan health care system rather than in individual HCPs, and skepticism from both HCPs and patients regarding a potential role for VHTs in HTN and DM management. CONCLUSIONS: In order to improve hypertension and diabetes management in this setting, we recommend taking actions to help patients to understand NCDs as preventable, for HCPs and patients to advocate together for health system reform regarding medication accessibility, and for promoting education, screening, and monitoring activities to be conducted on a community level in collaboration with village health team members.

Reconfiguring a One-Way Street: A Position Paper on Why and How to Improve Equity in Global Physician Training.

Large numbers of U.S. physicians and medical trainees engage in hands-on clinical global health experiences abroad, where they gain skills working across cultures with limited resources. Increasingly, these experiences are becoming bidirectional, with providers from low- and middle-income countries traveling to experience health care in the United States, yet the same hands-on experiences afforded stateside physicians are rarely available for foreign medical graduates or postgraduate trainees when they arrive. These physicians are typically limited to observership experiences where they cannot interact with patients in most U.S. institutions. In this article, the authors discuss this inequity in global medical education, highlighting the shortcomings of the observership training model and the legal and regulatory barriers prohibiting foreign physicians from engaging in short-term clinical training experiences. They provide concrete recommendations on regulatory modifications that would allow meaningful short-term clinical training experiences for foreign medical graduates, including the creation of a new visa category, the designation of a specific temporary licensure category by state medical boards, and guidance for U.S. host institutions supporting such experiences. By proposing this framework, the authors hope to improve equity in global health partnerships via improved access to meaningful and productive educational experiences, particularly for foreign medical graduates with commitment to using their new knowledge and training upon return to their home countries.

Impact of Global Health Electives on US Medical Residents: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of global health in graduate medical education in the United States (US) has soared over the past two decades. The majority of US internal medicine and pediatric residency programs now offer global health electives abroad. Despite the prevalence of global health electives among US graduate medical programs today, challenges exist that may impact the experience for visiting trainees and/or host institutions. Previous reviews have predominately focused on experiences of undergraduate medical students and have primarily described positive outcomes. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to summarize the overall impact of global health electives on US internal medicine, medicine-pediatric, and pediatric residents, paying specific attention to any negative themes reported in the literature. METHODS: An Ovid MEDLINE and Ovid EMBASE literature search was conducted to identify studies that evaluated the effects of global health electives on US internal medicine, medicine-pediatric, and pediatric residents. FINDINGS: Ten studies were included. Four positive themes emerged: (1) improvement of medical knowledge, physical examination, and procedural skills, (2) improvement in resourcefulness and cost-effectiveness, (3) improvement in cultural and interpersonal competence, and (4) professional and career development. Two negative themes were identified: (1) health risks and (2) safety risks. CONCLUSIONS: Global health electives provide a number of perceived benefits for US medical trainees; however, we importantly highlight health and safety concerns described while abroad. Global health educators should recognize the host of unique challenges experienced during a global health elective and investigate how to best mitigate these concerns. Incorporation of mandatory pre-, intra-, and post-elective training programs and establishment of universally adopted global health best practice guidelines may serve to address some the challenges visiting trainees encounter while abroad.

Ethical dilemmas during international clinical rotations in global health settings: Findings from a training and debriefing program.

PURPOSE: This study describes the impact of an open-access, case-based global health ethics workshop and describes the breadth of dilemmas faced by students to inform future interventions. METHODS: Eighty-two medical students who undertook electives at 16 international sites between 2012 and 2015 received web-based surveys at three time points, incorporating quantitative and free-text probes of knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to global health clinical ethics dilemmas. Sixty students (73%) completed the pre-workshop survey, 38 (46%) completed the post-workshop survey, and 43 (52%) completed the post-trip survey. RESULTS: Analysis demonstrated improvement following the workshop in self-rated preparedness to manage ethical dilemmas abroad, identify ways to prepare for dilemmas, engage support persons, and manage related emotions (all comparisons, p < 0.001). Participants described 245 anticipated or actual dilemmas, comprising nine domains. Nearly one-third of the dilemmas that were experienced involved the student as an active participant. Only 21% of respondents experiencing a dilemma discussed the dilemma with a local support person. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis describes an ethics curriculum that prepares students to face ethical dilemmas during international clinical rotations. It broadens the representation of the dilemmas that students face, and highlights areas for curricular focus and optimization of on-site and post-trip student support resources.

Evaluation of a social franchising and telemedicine programme and the care provided for childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia, Bihar, India.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact on the quality of the care provided for childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia in Bihar, India, of a large-scale, social franchising and telemedicine programme - the World Health Partners' Sky Program. METHODS: We investigated changes associated with the programme in the knowledge and performance of health-care providers by carrying out 810 assessments in a representative sample of providers in areas where the programme was and was not implemented. Providers were assessed using hypothetical patient vignettes and the standardized patient method both before and after programme implementation, in 2011 and 2014, respectively. Differences in providers' performance between implementation and nonimplementation areas were assessed using multivariate difference-in-difference linear regression models. FINDINGS: The programme did not significantly improve health-care providers' knowledge or performance with regard to childhood diarrhoea or pneumonia in Bihar. There was a persistent large gap between knowledge of appropriate care and the care actually delivered. CONCLUSION: Social franchising has received attention globally as a model for delivering high-quality care in rural areas in the developing world but supporting data are scarce. Our findings emphasize the need for sound empirical evidence before social franchising programmes are scaled up.