Health Promotion Course Promotes Global Collaboration

Health Promotion Course Promotes Global Collaboration

Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) was more than glad to partner with the Duke University Global Health Graduate Program in a pilot program that allowed five students from the Duke Kunshan University (DKU) campus in Kunshan, China to enroll in DUSON’s Health Promotion and Disease Prevention course.

The 14-week online course was taught in the fall of 2015 by Associate Professor Queen Utley-Smith, EdD, RN, CNE, ANEF.  Students in the class are practicing registered nurses who are obtaining Master of Science in Nursing degrees to become nurse practitioners. However, this was the first time non-nursing students were taking the class from another country.

“The DKU students integrated very well into the course and were engaged at an exceptionally high level,” said Utley-Smith. “They were able to bring a welcomed global perspective to the course that allowed the students to learn from each other’s perspectives.”

The Health Promotion and Disease Prevention course provides students with the opportunity to incorporate health promotion and disease prevention assessment and intervention into health care planning. Applying the principles of health education, the course prepares students to use the tools and skills necessary to provide health promotion and disease prevention services to individuals across the life span as well as families, groups and communities.

“The course was originally designed for nursing students; therefore, a majority of the content came from a nursing perspective. And even with this as the case, our students from China were able to apply course content to their individual professional situations,” Utley-Smith said.

Midway through the course, Utley-Smith issued a mid-semester evaluation of the course. The results showed that students from the DKU campus were learning a lot from the course, but wanted additional information that would allow them to apply what they were learning as it related to the health care system in China. With this in mind, Utley-Smith quickly revamped a portion of her course to allow the DKU students to include information about their environment.

“One of the assignments for the course was to complete a workplace and environmental health promotion assessment, and the DKU students were able to evaluate their Kushan campus and/or a prior work environment,” said Utley-Smith. “The fact that they were able to make this happen without coaching from me showcased the fact that health promotion principles are applicable in different cultures.”

Utley-Smith says that the DKU students offered ideas and health care solutions for their country’s population and received possible solutions from students who live in the United States. “The various viewpoints added to the students’ discussions and sparked new ideas that proved that our students are bright and definitely critical thinkers who are willing to dig deeper for answers.”

Continued global collaborations with different disciplines will benefit disease prevention and promote Duke University’s global health vision of becoming a worldwide leader in interdisciplinary global health education.

The ultimate goal for the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention course is for students to identify health indicators and look at improving the health of a nation and develop strategies for enhancing health and preventing diseases – a goal that isn’t limited to the United States.

“Countries such as China are beginning to face the same chronic health issues as Western society and by offering these students an opportunity to gain knowledge on chronic diseases, risk factors and techniques for promotion and prevention, we are creating a network that allows us to exchange global health knowledge and skills,” Utley-Smith said.

Utley-Smith hopes that the program will continue because it is a great opportunity for students who are registered nurses and non-nursing global health students to benefit from cross-cultural conversations that expand learning.

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