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News Article
November 6, 2009
Global Network Formed To Address Health Management Education
This week, members of an international Health Systems Competencies and Curriculum Initiative (HSCCI) taskforce proposed the formation of a global health systems training and education network to share resources and curriculum.
The recommendation was the result of a three-day meeting in Durham hosted by the Duke Global Health Institute and the Fuqua School of Business Health Sector Management Program. Participants included deans, faculty members and senior officials from academic institutions, multilateral organizations, and NGO’s in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the U.S.
“Duke is really showing the way in terms of fostering collaboration and programs that span multiple schools. This global network is fantastic because it promotes access and the exchange of information,” said Guy Pfeffermann, CEO and Chairman of the Global Business School Network. “It’s exciting that we are now breaking ground in creative ways that answer real-life problems around the world.”
The meeting, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, considered new ways of improving health systems through increased education in the areas of health management, policy and financing. With an interdisciplinary curriculum in the fields of public health, medicine and business, students can learn how to manage health systems around the world.
One potential role for a global health systems training network will be to share information resources, particularly curriculum and course materials, among its members. Duke is leading the way with Fuqua’s growing Health Sector Management Program and the Duke Global Health Institute’s new health systems course to be offered next semester. These offerings may be some of the first examples for how resources might be shared and used within the global network.
“This is fascinating to see the amount of work and attention that is going into strengthening health systems around the world,” said Manoj Mohanan, who leads DGHI’s health systems strengthening research initiative and will teach a course on the topic this Spring. “I developed this course with two objectives in mind. Of course we want to train students at Duke, but I also considered the possibility of making this course accessible to staff at other institutions, so it may be duplicated or at least disseminated more widely to students. In that way, I look forward to participating in this network.”
Since many low- and middle-income countries have a severe shortage of faculty members, Laura Magana, Academic Dean at Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, suggested a joint course that can be streamed and shared on the internet. Members of the network also considered opportunities for the exchange of students and post-doctoral trainees, and a “train-the trainers” service.
The group also recommended that each member advocate for more attention and resources for health systems training among health policy makers, the World Health Organization and potential funders. Sustainability may lie in a university’s ability to secure funding for small pilot projects that can be implemented, disseminated widely across schools of public health, medicine and business, and then evaluated.
As the global network develops, several participants emphasized that it should be an organic process to find what works best. A health systems network that incorporates the fields of public health, medicine and business is a new undertaking, but Marian Jacobs, Dean of the Faculty of Health Services at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said they shouldn’t have to entirely reinvent the wheel.
“I think it’s important to piggyback on what is already going on around us, instead of creating something entirely new and possibly duplicating efforts,” said Jacobs. “If we tap into existing networks of organizations with similar goals, we can see what’s missing and then be able to contribute.”
In the future, Jacobs recommended that members of the network reconnect at conferences where they can learn about similar efforts under way around the world. She believes the learning opportunities will be endless, for both the current workforce and the one to follow as more students train in multiple disciplines to become the next leaders of health systems around the world.
“In the past several years, our program has managed to survive. But, we are at a very critical moment now,” said Wei Zhang, Assistant Professor of Management at the China Europe International Business School. “This conference at Duke and this new partnership has given me a sense of a future direction in global health education.”
* Watch a panel discussion from this event.*
Related Article: “International Taskforce to Meet in Durham to Discuss Strengthening Health Systems Around World”
Related Article: “HSM Director’s Corner: Health Systems Curriculum and Competencies”