GLOBEMED’S GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
globalhealthU HIGHLIGHTS
Track 1
Week 4: Creating the Poverty-Health Cycle
THIS TRACK TRACK 1 Goal: Learn about the many facets of poverty. Investigate how poverty is intimately related to health and GlobeMed’s work.
THIS WEEK CREATING THE POVERTY HEALTH CYCLE Goals: Synthesize our understanding of poverty and health. Create a comprehensive “poverty global health cycle” representation.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND SMALL GROUP FACILITATORS You should use your small group facilitators to help lead this week’s discussion. Make sure the appropriate people are contacted and prepared to lead! TAKE PICTURES! If you choose to do the project this week, please send us photographs to share with the network!
CONTACT US
Rachel Markon & Neal Emery, co-Directors of ghU globalhealthU@globemed.org
Overview During Track 1 thus far, we have explored qualitative and quantitative accounts of poverty, as well as read case studies describing the relationship between poverty and health. In Week 4, we will work to synthesize our understanding of poverty and health by considering how the content of the previous three weeks all interface with each other. Then, we will challenge ourselves to concretely articulate this understanding by creating a visual, comprehensive representation of the poverty health cycle that can be shared with the whole network. While we may not end this week in uniform agreement, we hope that everyone will have the opportunity to engage in holistic discussion that increases one’s understanding of poverty, health, and the beliefs associated with these issues.
Discussion Estimated time: 10 minutes Building on the past three weeks, this week we will synthesize the quantitative definitions, qualitative views, and case studies to form a more encompassing understanding of poverty and its relationship to health. While our analysis is not complete nor totally comprehensive, synthesizing these diverse perspectives goes a long way towards comprehending and ultimately internalizing poverty, which in turn furthers our ability to empathize with our partners. This is the time for chapter member to engage in open and trusting discussion. It is important that these discussions happen within small groups, so that every person is able to speak honestly and engage with their peers. This discussion is meant to flow freely and act as a forum for sharing, learning, and growing Possible Discussion Questions ✦ How does each weeks analysis complement the other weeks? Where are there points of tension between the weeks? ✦ Is the Multivariable Poverty Index compatible with the Voices of the Poor? Where are these “measurements” of poverty witnessed in the poverty-health cycle? ✦ Taking into account these conflicting definitions, what is poverty? Challenge yourselves to define this.
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GLOBEMED’S GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
globalhealthU ✦ ✦
Do the perspectives provided give a full understanding of poverty and how it relates to health? What is missing? What facets of poverty does GlobeMed deal with? Do we focus primarily on quantitative issues, qualitative issues, etc.? How can we make our work address poverty more holistically?
A Network of Creation: Making the Cycle Estimated time: 20 minutes Bringing in the lessons from the last three weeks, physically create a representation of the poverty health cycle that is both comprehensive and dynamic. While it is easy to talk about poverty and health abstractly, it is much harder to concretely explain and define them. This activity is intended to challenge us to articulate and draw out our ideas in a way that discussion does not. This is a great opportunity to display a project as an external ghU event, so challenge yourselves to involve your campus - consider displaying your creation somewhere or working with other student groups. There is no right way of doing this - just be as creative as possible! Please take pictures, as we would like to share your work across the network! Possible Approaches ✦ Illustrate the cycle on a macro level, including the multi-generational deprivation that it often causes. Specify larger concepts with offshoots that delve into the effects of the cycle on a more micro, community level. Bring in the case studies and, ideally, stories from your partner organization/ community. Be visual, include pictures. ✦ Plot the relationship between poverty and health on an x-y axis, where factors describing health and factors describing poverty (think multidimensional poverty index) are simultaneously plotted against time. Try to supplement the statistical nature of this graph with either case studies or the quantitative analysis discussed in Week 2. Consider attempting to plot this relationship for your partner community as well. Include pictures and try to make it as personal as possible. ✦ Markers? Crayons? Chalk? Paint? Sticky-notes? Food? Key Points ✦ Based on last year’s feedback, we are trying to incorporate more activities in globalhealthU (so as to move away from a “classroom” model)! We hope this allows your chapter members to get up, move, and do. ✦ Bring in your campus, if possible. Maybe ask Professors to include their insight into the relationship between poverty and health. Consider working with student groups addressing local issues of poverty and factor in the communities that they deal with in the representation you create. You can also display your cycle in a popular place on campus, such as the student center. ✦ These are simply approaches, not specific suggestions. This week is really built upon creativity, so try to create something that represents what the poverty health cycle means to your chapter members. This can either be done in small groups or as an entire chapter.
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