Working Towards a Decolonized, Longitudinal, and Equitable Global Health Training and Partnerships Program.

Abstract

Objectives: Growth of global health education programs has blossomed over the past two decades in the United States; yet many do not address the roots of colonialism and racism in medicine. This paper highlights the Arrupe Global Scholars and Partnerships Program (AGSPP) at Creighton University, a social justice and innovative five-year MD-MPH global health equity and partnership program for medical students, international partners, and the communities impacted by these partnerships.

Methods: Using the applied social-ecological model as the global health educational framework, AGSPP launched a training and partnership program grounded in decolonized principles and global health equity.

Results: AGSPP developed three pillars of its program and monitoring, learning, and evaluation (MEL) platform to track its indicators and progression towards its goal of working towards eradicating health injustice by promoting equitable access to quality healthcare, especially within communities that are marginalized. The first pillar consists of a five-year MD-MPH and global health equity training program grounded in decolonizing, accompaniment, social justice principles. The second pillar consists of creating equitable and power-balanced international partnerships with four academic medical centers in Rwanda, Nepal, Ecuador, and Dominican Republic. The third pillar implemented was identifying, collaborating, and accompanying local communities listening to their concerns and ideas for solutions.

Conclusion: AGSPP's three-pillar framework is built on a foundational ethos of solidarity and justice, intended to deconstruct neocolonialistic processes while advancing health equity, social justice, and pragmatic solidarity. We believe sharing our experiences of creating a program that has an intentional focus on historical context, prioritizing equitable collaboration with partner institutions and communities between the Global South and Global North, will lead to future justice-oriented leaders of tomorrow and serve as an example for additional global health programs who have a similar interest.