Below is a summary of the coursework I completed through the Global Health Certificate curriculum. My interest was piqued during my first year of nursing school when I took an introductory course that emphasized the value of advocacy for inclusion, equity, and diversity in health care. I began to delve deeper and pursue this certificate by taking courses on global health topics that interested me. This background in global health will be incredibly valuable in my future career as a nurse because I will have the knowledge to care for patients in a holistic manner.
Amelia Giacobetti
University of Pittsburgh
Global Health Certificate Coursework
Coursework Descriptions
In this introductory course, I learned the fundamentals of global public health. These included key health indicators, social determinants of health, the global burden of disease, and the relationships that exist amongst health status, education, and poverty. We were given the opportunity to work through case studies, participate in class discussions, create presentations, and write papers. An overarching theme of this course was the interplay of social, political, cultural, behavioral, economic, and ethical factors affects health and must be considered when addressing global health issues. I took this course in the fall of 2021, and it was interesting to discuss current global health events, largely about the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the semester, we created group presentations that examined health care systems in different countries. My group’s presentation can be found in the papers and presentations tab of this website.
This course delved into the consideration that delivery and acceptance of health care can be influenced by social, cultural, and environmental factors. All of these factors affect an individual’s response to daily stressors and overall health. Because of this, it becomes imperative to understand culturally congruent care. In this course, we learned about cultural concepts, theories, and research. Assignments for this course included a cultural assessment tool analysis, a windshield survey of a selected community, a community health assessment, a personal assessment of implicit bias, and a final project that encompassed cultural topics within a selected country. Some of this work can be found in the papers and presentations tab of this website.
In this epidemiology course, we learned about the distribution and determinants of disease in the population and how this information creates a basis for subsequent disease prevention and control programs. This relates to global health because the discipline greatly underlies public health policy and practice. By the end of the semester, I felt proficient in the calculation and interpretation of epidemiologic measures of disease frequency and burden. Concepts covered in class were extremely relevant to the current events of the pandemic. We were introduced to approaches used to identify, control, and prevent ill health and diminished quality of life in the community, specifically in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This course opened my eyes to the hidden aspects and interpretations of food. It is intertwined with culture, personal identity, and interpersonal relationships, which I never noticed before. Food and foodways are the most diverse aspects of human culture. It allowed me to take a closer look into my own interactions with food, how national and global events change food practices, as well as the way in which others around me interact with food in all aspects of their lives. Additionally, this course gave me the tools to gain insight into the inequalities that exist when it comes to federal food assistance. Some course objectives included discussion on the origins of human nutrient requirements, the role of evolution on contemporary food practices, the broad patterns and variations of the impact of different food production strategies, and the evaluation of food practices in the context of political, economic, ecological, and historical factors. Assignments included an essay on food ethnography during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a reflection on food insecurity.
I decided to take this class due to my background in mental health. I wanted to learn more about neurological pathways and the ways in which psychoactive compounds affect them, potentially altering behavior. The behavioral effects and biological mechanisms of action of stimulants, depressants, narcotics, and hallucinogens were discussed. Additionally, drugs utilized to treat psychiatric neurological disorders were studied. We discussed the drugs used to treat schizophrenia, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. This course related to global public health because current theories about addiction and the ways in which it affects different populations were discussed. The one discussion that stuck with me was about the opioid crisis in the United States; it was extremely interesting to learn about its origins.
Similar to Introduction to Epidemiology, this course focused on ways to mitigate risk in order to promote health and prevent disease. Epidemiological topics were utilized to examine current international, federal, state, and professional organization guidelines for health promotion and disease prevention. Through assignments and class discussions, we identified modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors that influence the health of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations. Specifically, ways to mitigate the risk of chronic diseases, infectious diseases, mental health issues, and injuries were addressed. Evidence-based recommendations for health promotion and disease prevention were always culturally sensitive.
Other Relevant Courses
This course allowed me to synthesize my knowledge from nursing, public health, and epidemiology aimed at promoting, restoring and maintaining health potential among individuals, families, and populations within communities. We examined how social, economic, and environmental determinants of health influence the health of communities and produce differences in morbidity and mortality. I found it extremely beneficial that this course emphasized the importance of advocating for social justice and health equity, especially amongst vulnerable populations.
This was the first college course I took that opened my eyes to global public health. I broadened my understanding of how health care relates to the concepts of inclusion, equity, and diversity, both domestically and globally. We looked at local communities and their diversity in culture, race, ethnicity, gender, ability, socioeconomic, sexual orientation, and immigration. We identified the strengths of communities in an effort to promote positive change. Assignments allowed me to reflect on myself and also engage in community-based learning.