International Journal of
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Opinion Volume 4 Issue 3
Importance of global health in the training of health professionals
Catalina Capitán-Jiménez,1
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Yazlin Alvarado Rodríguez2
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1Department of Nutrition, Universidad Hispanoamericana, Costa Rica
2Department of Medicine, Universidad Hispanoamericana, Costa Rica
Correspondence: Catalina Capitán-Jiménez, Department of Nutrition, Universidad Hispanoamericana, Costa Rica, Tel +506 88749572
Received: March 02, 2020 | Published: May 22, 2020
Citation: Capitán-Jiménez C, Alvarado-Rodríguez Y. Importance of global health in the training of health professionals. Int J Fam Commun Med. 2020;4(3):83. DOI: 10.15406/ijfcm.2020.04.00190
Abstract
The burden of global disease has been increasing in recent years. The role of universities in the training of professionals in Health Sciences capable of assuming a role of educators will be essential to raise awareness and reduce costs of or diseases that currently affect the world's health systems.
Keywords: public health, education, health professionals, health education
Opinion
The term “global health” began to have prominence in recent times and includes all those public health problems in different countries and populations taking into account the reality of each region.1 This term includes six majör axis corresponding to: social justice, human rights, equity, common benefits, respect for the enviroment and respect for the idiosyncrasy and people´s identity.1,2 Each component includes research and practice that places the improvement of health and of equity in health3 as a priority.
Global health does not pertainonly to health professionals or governments but also to health professionals dedicated to teaching. These educators are responsible for training the future generations who will ensure the health of the populations.The training of future professionals plays a fundamental role on the impact of global health and should include a very strong teaching component, of learning how to be sttransmit knowledge.4
Each country in the world has its specific epidemiological, demographic and healths by ste characteristics band has directed efforts, for the most part, to accomplish sustainable development objectives. However, there is an Access and education gap that limits the universality of health. Like wise, the increase in chronicnon-communicable diseases has generated a global burden of disease that directly impacts governments. In addition to this, there is an absence of actions aimed at providing health and preventing disease along with a vision of hyper specialization in the training of professionals.
Sensitizing health professionals through training and incorporating health education into the curriculum are an indispensable part of the management of the professional staff. Education of the patient should be assumed as part of the daily practice, including, amongotherthings, the determinants of health such as healthy eating, physical activity, health in the environment, among others. This approach would be the first step in improving the health of the population. However, it is necessary to rais econsciousness among the health professionals in the first place, so they can make the patients aware as well.
Our goal should be training professionals that are capable of conceiving global health as a broad term that directs efforts towards the determinants of health and that work not only on treatment and rehabilitation but also on strengthening health through lifestyle, environment and risk factor modifications. To effectively contribute to global health, universities must teach and raise awareness among all students of Health Sciences about their role as educators, a role that could be the key to contributing to decreasing the incidence statistics of chronicnon-communicable diseases.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the authors consider that one of the key factors that could contribute to the improvement of global health is the training of all professionals in health sciences in their role as educators. It is through this position from which they can contribute to the awareness of prevention of diseases and help to reduce the over all burden of the disease.
Acknowledgments
None.
Conflicts of interest
The author dealcres there is no conflict of interest.
Funding
None.
References
- Robson G, Gibson N, Thompson A, et al. Global healthethics: criticalreflections on thecontours of an emergingfield, 1977-2015. BMC Medical Ethics. 2019;20(1):53–53.
- Franco-Giraldo Á. Saludglobal: una visiónlatinoamericana. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2016;39(2):128–136.
- Koplan JP, Bond TC, Merson MH, et al. Towards a commondefinition of globalhealth. The Lancet. 2009;373(9679):1993–1995.
- Jacobsen KH, Zeraye HA, Bisesi MS, et al. Master of public health global health concentration competencies: preparing culturally skilled practitionersto serve internationally, nationally, and locally. Am J Public Health. 2019;109(9):1189–1190.
©2020 Capitán-Jiménez, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.