Strengthening Undergraduate Global Health Curricula at Penn State
Open Access
- Author:
- Criner, Rachel Nicole
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Melina T Czymoniewicz Klippel, Thesis Supervisor
Melina Tanya Czymoniewicz Klippel, Thesis Supervisor
Linda L Caldwell, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Lori Anne Francis, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- global health
undergraduate education
curriculum development
professional development - Abstract:
- Background: Over the past decade, global health (GH) has become a popular topic in research, policy-making, and academia. More recently, there has been a growing emphasis by universities to begin GH education at the undergraduate level. However, research is lacking on why undergraduates are interested in GH programs and how undergraduate programs should be structured to maximize their educational value and enhance the matriculation of graduates into productive post-baccalaureate GH careers. Methods: A structured online survey of 60-76 multiple-choice and open-ended questions was administered to a convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled at the Pennsylvania State University-University Park (Penn State) in Fall 2011. Through descriptive statistical analysis, the study determined reasons for, and professional interests and goals of, students who self-reported as having an interest in the GH field. Results: A convenience sample of 194 Penn State undergraduate students responded to the survey that was open for 19 days. Participants were mainly female (84.9%) and between the ages of 18 and 21-years-old (90.5%). Results found that 29.5% of participants were strongly interested in studying GH as an undergraduate and 31.6% were strongly interested in engaging in GH post-college graduation. Survey participants with strong interest in GH were extremely involved with extracurricular activities (p<0.05) and had traveled abroad at least once (p<0.05). In addition, participants from almost all income levels, except for those between $32,001-53,000, expressed strong interest in GH (p<0.05) and believed that pursuing GH opportunities were realistic endeavors (p<0.05). Participants strongly interested in GH wanted to pursue a GH major (90.0%), GH minor (88.9%), and GH-related internship in the U.S. (82.9%). Participants extremely interested in engaging in GH post-college wanted to work as a volunteer (40.7%) and/or GH practitioner (23.7%); they also wanted to receive GH training as part of professional or graduate school (21.6%). Conclusion: Students most interested in GH are those with prior travel experience and extracurricular involvement. Moreover, students want to pursue a variety of GH post-college opportunities, including volunteering, practicing GH, and graduate or professional education. Thus, in order to fulfill students’ GH interests and prepare them for successful GH careers, universities including Penn State should consider providing a range of resources, including financial support for travel expenses and creating a student-led but faculty-supported GH organization. The University could also host monthly GH career panels and encourage representatives of GH employers and graduate institutions to attend its several career fairs.