Program Rationale
Every year, nearly 10 million children under the age of 5 years die due to complications of common childhood illnesses. Over 50% of these deaths occur in just six developing countries, while 42 countries account for over 90%. Child death rates in the poorest region, sub-Saharan Africa, exceed those of industrialized countries by a factor of nearly 30. Worldwide, nearly 1 billion people lack access to even basic health care services.
The practice of medicine in rich countries no longer occurs in a vacuum. Increasingly, global forces such as digital information exchange, economics, trade, international politics, demographic shifts, culture, education, migration and travel, violent conflicts, complex emergencies, nutritional transitions and climate change are impacting population health and the way that medicine is viewed and practiced. As experts in child health, pediatricians need a basic understanding of these issues and how they impact the health and health care of the world’s children. It is not surprising that medical students and residents are increasingly demanding that global health issues be integrated into medical education curriculums. Globally and nationally, momentum is gaining for the recognition of basic health care as an inalienable human right and young doctors are leading the way. From a national perspective, global health policy has implications for public health, foreign policy, national security, poverty alleviation, and economic development.
The great disparities between child health in developing countries and industrialized countries have implications for children living in rich and poor countries. To educate pediatric residents regarding these inequities in child health, it is necessary to integrate global health education into pediatric training programs. Furthermore, increasing numbers of resident physicians participate in clinical electives in foreign countries and require specific education and clinical skills in order to function and learn effectively in a different environment. Integrating global health training into the University of Utah Pediatrics Residency Program prepares pediatricians for a career in a ever-globalizing world, wherever they might care for children in the future.