GHS

What is Global Health

Area of study/research/practice prioritizing improving health

• Achieving equity in health for ALL people worldwide

Important Characteristics of both Global Health and Public Health

• Both are not just the absence of disease

  • Physical, mental, and social well-being

• Both emphasize

  • Population-level polices

  • Individual approaches to health promotion

• Both address the root causes of ill-health

  • A broad array of scientific, social, cultural, and economic strategies

How did we get to now

• Global health is the newest iteration of what was formerly

  • Tropical medicine/colonial medicine

  • then International Health

  • THEN Global Health

Tropical Medicine (aka. Colonial medicine)

• Based in Colonialism

Primary concern: Keeping “colonizers” (white men) alive in the tropics

Carries historical baggage

What are the Impacts from Colonialism still in play today?

Can be seen in:

• Underlying economic/ political reltaions

  • Eg. Neoliberalism, US imperialism

• Health Inequalities

US Imperialism

Expansion of American power & Influence

• Via political, economic, cultural & media influence on an international level

Neoliberalism

Unrestricted free market and the lack of government regulation on capitalist tactics

shrinking the impact of government

It often heightens the already existing systemic inequality, such as racism, poverty

Where can we see this concept in our lives?

Higher Education

• Was once free/affordable

  • Now Big Money

• Results indeof bted students

  • Flows down to families

• Favors those who can pay

International Health

Improve health of populations

• Usually from Global North to South

Grounded in development programs

• Circles back to ethnocentrism

Global Health

Researchers from rich countries leading research programs in poor countries

Research and other

Capacity Building

The development of knowledge, skills, commitment, structures, systems, and leadership to enable effective health promotion… [with] actions to improve health systems skills, commitment, structures, systems, and leadership to enable effective health prom

The problems with capacity building

The organizations

We have 2 groups of people in NW Kenya One has very high malaria, one does not? Why

• Cultural practices

Ch. 2 Upacking Global Health

Global Health’s focus

Typically on action

• Providing services

• Improve population health

• Improve Individual health

Global health evaluation

Typically measuring program effectiveness

• Generally Quantitative

What is often missing?

Social Theory

Why is Unpacking Global Health important

Allows deeper understanding of medicine & global health

• More context: truer interpretation of the nature, effects, & limitations

Why would we want this deeper understanding of medicine and GH

1. Unexpected issues are a constant in GH

2. Well-intentioned projects often have unintended and undesirable consequences

What is the ultimate goal in avoiding Untenteded and Undesirable Consequences

This is the ultimate goal

• Design

What are the benefits of a Global health approach based in social theory (may be on test)

Allows critique & improvements critique & improvements
to healthcare delivery
- Optimally measures effects measures effects of interventions
- Explains the meaning of effects meaning of effects
to diverse groups

Important theories

Biosocial Analysis

Unanticipated consequences of purposive action
Rationalization of the world
- Authorities
Discipline & Biopower
Social Suffering
Structural Violence

how should we navigate the interrelationships of these causes when implementing a health program?

• Assign value to the available causes

  • Determine if the problem is biological, environmental, economic, etc.

Institutionalization

1. As groups come together they construct norms to govern their relations

2. There are passed to the next generations and are assigned meaning, becoming rules

3. As others enter the groups. they experience these historicized habits as rules

How do socially constructed norms become institutionalization?

• When these social norms are transformed into policy

• Norms are given legitimacy & authority to exert social control

• We now feel pressure to obey rules or common convention

Medicalization

Subjective experiences are defined as a disease

Purposive action

• Actions, done with, or serving, a purpose