The Global Health Partnerships A University of Virginia international health initiative.

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The Global Health PartnershipsA University of
Virginia international health initiative.

• School of Nursing
• School of Medicine Public Health
• School of Engineering

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Brief History Expansion

• In Spring 2007, a team of graduate-level nursing
  and medical students launched the first two
  Global Health Partnership programs in Lesotho and
  South Africa with the aim of developing
  sustainable, community health/clinical service
  learning initiatives to assist people infected or
  affected by HIV/AIDS.
• In January 08, students returned to Lesotho and
  successfully established the official Lesotho
  Health Partnership (LHP) program.
  
• The LHP is now fully operating with a community
  health and clinical site, and a line up of
  students who will participate in the LHP program
  in Feb 08, July 08, and Feb 09.

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Brief History Expansion (cont)

• The South Africa Health Partnership (SAHP) is not
  far behind Lesotho in development, with an
  interdisciplinary team of students and faculty
  departing for South Africa in July 08 to conduct
  a community needs assessment and develop
  relationships to establish an operational and
  sustainable SAHP program.
• Recently, development of the Guatemala Health
  Partnership commenced, with a team of
  interdisciplinary faculty departing on a
  fact-finding and program development trip in Feb
  08, the first team of students will head to
  Guatemala in July 08.
• In each case, U.Va. was invited by community
  organizations or governments to collaborate - and
  all efforts were coordinated with existing UVa
  contacts in these regions.

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The Global Health Partnerships (GHP)

• Through the process of development, the Global
  Health Partnerships vision has taken form and the
  greater UVa community is coming together behind
  it.
• Recently, the School of Engineering and Applied
  Science (SEAS) as well as the Department of
  Public Health Sciences at the School of Medicine
  have joined the initiative and other disciplines
  including Darden School of Business and the
  School of Architecture are showing interest.
• Furthermore, the GHP has been asked by local
  organizations to develop programs at their sites
  in Saipan and Tanzania.
  

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The GHP Mission

• To draw from the strength and expertise of a
  unified University of Virginia (U.Va.) health
  community to build deep and lasting global
  partnerships where visiting students are inspired
  to address the worlds most pressing health
  issues. The Global Health Partnerships (GHP)
  challenge students to extend their horizons of
  growth and inquiry in the context of todays most
  severe health crises.

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Guiding Principles

• Driven by the voices of the communities we serve,
  our guiding principles begin with invitation by
  our international partners and include
  
• Service learning
• Collaboration
• Interdisciplinary teamwork
• Cultural competency
• Knowledge exchange
• Research, and
• Sustainability

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Objectives

• To promote the health and well-being of
  vulnerable individuals and communities affected
  by poverty and epidemics of disease in the
  developing world
• To unify, focus, and facilitate the extensive
  expertise and resources of the U.Va. Schools of
  Nursing, Medicine, and Engineering to develop a
  few high quality, long-term, sustainable
  international partnerships for student exchange
  and training and to include other disciplines as
  requested by the communities we serve.

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Objectives

• To provide residents and medical, public health,
  graduate-level nursing, and engineering students
  in collaboration with faculty, with safe and
  meaningful clinical, research, and community
  health service learning opportunities at five
  established international sites
• Lesotho
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Guatemala
• Saipan
• To equip students with the personal and
  professional tools needed to optimally serve the
  broad diversity of individuals, populations, and
  communities they will encounter in the practice
  of health care and engineering, including
  cross-cultural competency, language skills, and
  leadership

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Objectives

• To enhance teamwork and communication between the
  disciplines, and to model this collaboration at
  home and overseas
  
• To provide an international exchange opportunity
  whereby international students from partner sites
  overseas come to U.Va. (or go to other Health
  Partnership sites) to train and conduct research
  in order to return, train others, and lead
  efforts to address local health problems.
• To establish a centralized source of information
  regarding global health experiences for
  students.
  

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The Foundation

• A key strength of the Global Health Partnerships
  is pre-existing collaboration.
  
• SAVANA in South Africa
• SEAS in Guatemala South Africa
• Center for Global Health in Tanzania
• UVA alumni in Saipan

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Making a long term impact.

• The GHP program will assist resource-poor
  communities through high-quality, sustainable
  global health service learning programs.
  
• Focusing on a few key countries ensures strong
  relationships between the University and the host
  organization.
  
• Strong relationships with partners promotes rich,
  safe, and highly coordinated student
  experiences.
  
• And promotes sustainability.

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Project Program Sustainability Model

• Community Health Needs Assessment (CAN)
• To ensure students are addressing the
  self-identified needs of the community as opposed
  to serving their own interests the students
  conduct a CNA.
• Development of health projects and trainings.
• In collaboration with international partners,
  students implement projects based on CNA findings
  and sustainability.
  
• Transfer of information to the next team.
• Upon return, students write a full report on
  their efforts in-country (GHP Report), they
  update and revise the Student Handbook, and they
  work with the upcoming team of students to
  transfer knowledge about what worked and what
  didnt, and to advise them regarding projects,
  travel, and logistics.
• Evaluation of health projects and trainings.
• The next team of students (after being briefed by
  the preceeding team) evaluate existing projects
  and continue with or redirect efforts depending
  on success and sustainability.
• Implementing a system for transfer of knowledge
  between teams ensures program sustainability.
  

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Interdisciplinary

• It is evident that improving the health of
  resource-poor communities takes more than
  medicine and nursing it involves a network of
  disciplines working together to create innovative
  solutions.
• Limiting the GHP program to the fields of nursing
  and medicine limits our ability to provide
  holistic solutions to health problems overseas.
  
• Partnering with Public Health and SEAS, as well
  as other disciplines within the UVa community,
  brings additional technical expertise and a
  multidisciplinary approach to addressing basic
  human needs like clean water, household energy,
  and adequate shelter.

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Centralizing Information Promoting Safety

• Many graduate students have found it difficult to
  access global health opportunities because
  program information is decentralized, or the
  opportunities require them to develop the
  experience themselves.
• The GHP unifies international health initiatives
  at U.Va. by centralizing information regarding
  global health opportunities, and encouraging open
  communication and coordination of initiatives by
  the Center for Global Health, SON, SOM, SEAS and
  International Studies Office (ISO).
• The GHP offers an established U.Va.-led program
  that is still flexible enough to meet specific
  needs and interests.
  
• The GHP model of established host sites provides
  consistent, safe accommodations and community
  health/clinical sites that are monitored and
  evaluated by GHP leaders.
• GHP leaders collaborate with international
  partners to ensure appropriate supervision and
  mentorship for students doing clinical and
  community health work.

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Determining Results

• Monitoring the progress and defining the
  successes of the program are critical components
  of its sustainability.
  
• The progress of the program will be monitored by
  establishing a set of goals and objectives, and
  measured by using tools including documentation,
  written assessments, and evaluations.
• Tools will include
• Community Needs Assessments
• GHP Site Evaluation Tool
• Evaluations
• Documentation
• Post-trip data advocacy and education
• As part of the program, returning participants
  will present their work to a group of their peers
  and colleagues in order to strengthen students
  advocacy, public speaking and critical thinking
  skills, and to raise awareness of global health
  issues within the U.Va. community.
• Student Handbooks
• Information collected and documented from
  assessments, evaluations, site evaluations and
  post trip advocacy will be compiled in the
  Student Handbook for each GHP site students are
  expected to revise this document upon return.

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Continuation of Funding

• It is expected that students provide matching
  funds for the cost of participation.
  
• So far, students have taken leadership in
  obtaining funding through the Center for Global
  Health and via small fundraising events in the
  community.
• In addition, students have obtained funding for
  their projects (but not travel costs) at host
  sites through non-profit organizations like
  Friends of Lesotho.
• GHP student leaders are working with faculty, the
  Nursing, Medicine and Engineering schools
  advisory boards, and U.Va. development staff to
  identify additional funding opportunities through
  foundations and corporations with a specific
  interest in supporting global health initiatives.
  
• The long-term goal is to establish an endowment
  that will provide significant support to the GHP
  program in perpetuity.

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Summary

• The GHP has 5 Health Partnerships Lesotho, South
  Africa, Guatemala, Saipan and Tanzania.
  
• The GHP program broadens students perspectives,
  enhances their abilities to assess and address
  the needs of vulnerable communities, and enables
  them to develop cross-cultural and language
  abilities.
• The GHP program not only benefits the students,
  but also builds professional capacity among our
  international partners and the communities they
  serve through direct service, training, ongoing
  professional development, information sharing,
  and computer technology assistance.
• The Global Health Partnerships challenge students
  to extend their horizons of growth and inquiry in
  the context of the most severe health crises of
  our time.