Implementation of an international medical student pen-pal club:survey outcomes of perceptions in cultural competency and global health

Background:Pen-pal clubs(PPC)are used worldwide for students to learn about different cultures and other skillsets without the need for travel.Many medical students are interested in global health opportunities abroad but costs,scheduling,and other barriers allow few to participate in such experiences.It is important that medical students have nuanced global medical perspectives and can contribute to the global medical community.Objective:The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that an international medical student PPC improves medical students'perspectives of cultural competency and global health engagement.Methods:In 2021,a novel medical student PPC was established that began between an American and Japanese medical school.Following a shareholders meeting,it was decided that the number of medical schools involved globally be expanded through previous institutional affiliations and online presences.In total,the club connected 50 American medical students and 52 medical students from 17 high-and middle-income countries.The primary form of communication was online;pen-pals were encouraged to communicate monthly using provided topics,although frequency and way of communication was their discretion.In February 2022,American PPC members were emailed a qualitative survey to assess the PPC's impact.Results:The survey was completed by 42%of American PPC members,95%of which were 22-26 years.Participants were preclinical medical students,60%whom were female and the majority either white(47%)or Asian(43%).Overall,the PPC positively influenced American medical students'perception of global medicine,medical education,and their cultural competency after joining the PPC compared to prior(P=0.004).Conclusion:PPCs encourage medical students to think from a global perspective and foster open-mindedness within varying social and cultural contexts.Having a global communication platform for students during medical school education may be an additional way to train aspiring global leaders.

Artificial Intelligence for Global Health: Difficulties and Challenges: A Narrative Review

Global health (GH) aims to improve healthcare for all people on the planet and eradicate all avoidable diseases and deaths. The inception of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is innovating healthcare practices and improving patient outcomes by shuffling enormous volumes of health data—from health records and clinical studies to genetic information analyzing it much faster than humans. AI also helps in the improvement of medical imaging and medical diagnosis. There is an increased optimism regarding the use of applications of AI locally but can these facets be translated globally in the advancement and delivery of healthcare with the help of AI. At present majority of AI developments and applications in health care provide to the needs of developed countries and there is little effort to develop programs which could help to improve healthcare delivery globally. We performed this narrative review to assess the difficulties and discrepancies in implementing AI in global health delivery and find ways to improve.

Shaping global health promotion:a comprehensive analysis of the 10 Global Conferences on Health Promotion Conferences(1986-2021)

Objective This study analyzed how the 10 Global Conferences on Health Promotion have played a significant role in shaping and promoting a worldwide consensus and actions on health promotion,effectively addressing diverse health challenges that evolved over different periods.Methods The textual analysis method was used in this study and text encoding was conducted to systematically examine the declarations and reports presented by the 10 Global Conferences on Health Promotion held during 1986-2021.We summarized the themes and key achievements,and key vocabulary in the conference declarations was extracted and analyzed to construct the global health promotion consensus and actions.Results The fundamental principles of the conferences are to foster consensus and initiate actions in the realm of health promotion on a global scale.The primary purpose and goal are to promote health from regional to global.Significantly,our findings highlight a transition in the primary actors driving health promotion.It underscores a shift in health promotion from being driven primarily by organizations like the World Health Organization,governments,and international bodies,to a more inclusive approach involving non-governmental organizations and the general public.This development implies that health promotion has evolved into a collective global endeavor,demanding the proactive involvement of various stakeholders,and forging new alliances in public health.Meanwhile,the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has further shaped the landscape of health promotion,underscoring the need for intensified focus on areas including disease prevention,health education,and the integration of digital health technologies,and emphasizing the importance of a multidimensional,responsive approach in public health initiatives.Conclusions Sustained collaboration and innovative strategies are pivotal to advancing health promotion globally.Countries,together with public and private entities,should intensify cooperation.Multisectoral collaboration among partners such as healthcare,education,social security,and the industry is vital for health promotion and achieving global health goals.

Global health education in Chinese universities and potential for collaboration with schools of nursing: A qualitative study

Background: The Chinese Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CCUGH) was established within schools of public health in 2013 with the goal of enhancing global health in China.Expanding nursing students' exposure to global health curricula is important as nurses are essential actors in the health care system.However,information related to existing global health education within CCUGH-affiliated universities and the current engagement of Chinese schools of nursing in global health remains extremely limited.Objective: To identify and describe the current definitions and conceptualizations of global health education in Chinese universities,with a focus on schools of nursing,in order to explore potential opportunities for strengthened collaboration between global health initiative and schools of nursing in China.Methods: Purposive sampling with snowballing was used to recruit 19 key informants who were critical stakeholders in global health and nursing in China.Key informant interviews were conducted from July 2014 to February 2015,and data were updated in June 2016.Content analysis was used to analyze data via Atlas.ti 7.Results: There was a rapid growth in global health education within and beyond CCUGH-affiliated universities with nine universities establishing global health institutes.Translation and definition of global health lacked consistency in Chinese language.Though no course directly related to global health was offered,schools of nursing were gradually participating in global health education and research.Nursing was a critical component of global health,and global health and nursing mutually advanced each other.Nursing education should include global health contents,but at present independent global health curriculum in schools of nursing was not appropriate.Conclusion: Increasingly Chinese universities are promoting global health education through the platform of CCUGH.It is an ideal moment to promote and expand work across the fields of global health and nursing,specifically to highlight opportunities for collaboration across education,research and practice.

Global health governance for travel health: lessons learned from thecoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks in large cruise ships

Background: The outbreak and global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) attracts a great deal ofattentions to the problem of travel health. Cruise tourism is increasingly popular, with an estimated 30 millionpassengers transported on cruise ships worldwide each year. Safeguarding the health of cruise travelers duringthe entire travel is of ultimate importance for both the industry and global public health.Objective: This study aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities in travel health from the perspective ofglobal health governance.Methods: The global governance framework including problems, values, tools or regulations, and actors relatedto travel health were used to analyze the issues involved.Results: Up to April 2020, nearly thirty cruise ship voyages reported COVID-19 cases. The Diamond Princess,Grand Princess and Ruby Princess cruise ship had over 1,400 total reported COVID-19 cases, and more than 30deaths. A community with a common future in travel health is the core value of global health governance fortravel health. The travel-related international regulations, including the International Health Regulation (IHR[2005]), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Maritime Organization(IMO) conventions should be further updated to deal with the travel health problems. The roles andresponsibilities and the cooperation mechanisms of different actors are not clear in relation to the public healthemergencies during the travel.Conclusion: Travel health transcends national borders and involves multilevel actors, thus needs globalcooperation and governance. Regulations and legislation at global and country level are required to preventlarge-scale humanitarian crisis on travel health. Multilateral coordination, cooperation and collaborationmechanisms between governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations andindustry are needed to build a better community of common destiny for travel health.

What is global health?Key concepts and clarification of misperceptions Report of the 2019 GHRP editorial meeting

The call for“Working Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind”requires us to improve people’s health across the globe,while global health development entails a satisfactory answer to a fundamental question:“What is global health?”To promote research,teaching,policymaking,and practice in global health,we summarize the main points on the definition of global health from the Editorial Board Meeting of Global Health Research and Policy,convened in July 2019 in Wuhan,China.The meeting functioned as a platform for free brainstorming,indepth discussion,and post-meeting synthesizing.Through the meeting,we have reached a consensus that global health can be considered as a general guiding principle,an organizing framework for thinking and action,a new branch of sciences and specialized discipline in the large family of public health and medicine.The word“global”in global health can be subjective or objective,depending on the context and setting.In addition to dual-,multicountry and global,a project or a study conducted at a local area can be global if it(1)is framed with a global perspective,(2)intends to address an issue with global impact,and/or(3)seeks global solutions to an issue,such as frameworks,strategies,policies,laws,and regulations.In this regard,global health is eventually an extension of“international health”by borrowing related knowledge,theories,technologies and methodologies from public health and medicine.Although global health is a concept that will continue to evolve,our conceptualization through group effort provides,to date,a comprehensive understanding.This report helps to inform individuals in the global health community to advance global health science and practice,and recommend to take advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China.

Monkeypox outbreak in the age of COVID‑19:a new global health emergency

Dear Editor,The World Health Organization recently declared monkeypox as a global emergency after reporting more than 57,000 new cases worldwide[1].Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus similar in nature to the Variola virus,which is a causative agent for smallpox[2].Monkeypox virus presents as a unique challenge for global health and should be regarded with grave concern as the vast majority of cases are occurring in countries where the disease is not considered endemic.Furthermore,the spread of this pathogen is occurring concomitantly as the world is still engaged in a battle with the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,which has caused substantial damage to global healthcare infrastructure.If monkeypox continues its rapid spread,hospitals could be quickly overwhelmed by both COVID-19 and monkeypox cases.Now more than ever,early symptom recognition and use of all available treatments to contain monkeypox outbreaks are vital.Early precautions including early recognition of symptoms by physicians,use of currently available treatments,and promoting precautionary measures in at-risk populations may be vital in preventing hospital burden and further physician burnout.

《中国医科大学学报》入选2008年英国《公共健康研究数据库》(Global Health)收录中国期刊名单

据中国高校自然科学学报研究会网站2009年3月30日报道,《中国医科大学学报》入选2008年英国《公共健康研究数据库》(Glbobal Health)收录中国期刊名单。Global

Disciplinary development of global health academic degree programs in China

This study aims to provide a brief overview of the history and development of global health education(GHE)as academic degree programs worldwide,and to identify GHE’s development opportunities and obstacles in China.This is a state-of-the-art review of published and unpublished information that described and evaluated disciplinary development of global health degree programs worldwide,written in English,and published or shared between 1990 and 2020.Data were derived from official websites of leading global health institutions,like“Google Scholar”,“PubMed”,and unpublished information such as presentation files and unpublished manuscripts collected from knowledgeable leaders in the field.We retrieved and reviewed a total of 35 articles and a large amount of unpublished information or sources on the internet.Global Health emerged as a new discipline around the end of the last millennium and proliferated in the last two decades in developed nations,especially the United States and the United Kingdom.The development of China’s GHE programs was built on China’s increasing engagement in global health affairs and research.In 2012,Wuhan University established the first official global health department in China.Several universities such as Peking University and Duke Kunshan University subsequently set up departments or programs to offer undergraduate and postgraduate majors and degrees.The first school-level global health unit was established in Shanghai in 2019.The Consortium of Chinese Universities for Global Health(CCUGH)grew from 10 founding members in 2013 to 25 in 2020.Major desirable attributes“unique”to students majoring in global health include global-mindedness,health interests,compassion,intercultural sensitivity,and adventurous spirit.Graduates from GHE programs have a diverse set of career choices spanning research,government,not-for-profit,and private sector occupations.We identified a number of strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,and threats to the future development of GHE in China.To ensure sustainable future growth,we advocate addressing the following key aspects:(1)clearer disciplinary distinctions;(2)multidisciplinary collaborations;(3)public-sector investments;and(4)non-public sectors participation.Amidst China’s increasing engagement in health affairs globally and the proliferation of GHE programs in developed nations,China has experienced fast growth in GHE degree programs since 2012 while a number of challenges remain for its future development.

Cultivating global health professionals: evaluation of a training course to develop international consulting service competence in China

Background:China’s accelerating development and increasingly important role in global health engagement create a great demand for global health professionals including international consulting experts.This study reported the detailed development and evaluation of an international consulting training for global health workforce.Methods:Based on Kirkpatrick’s model,a mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.Quantitative and qualitative data on participants’reaction,learning,and application of the learned knowledge and skills were collected by a training evaluation survey at the ending of training and a follow-up interview in three months after the training.Results:Thirty-six participants attended the training and 34 of them completed quantitative investigation.The training satisfaction evaluations were positive,for which participants rated the training program highly and over 90%of them agreed with the usefulness of the training.About knowledge and skills change,participants showed improved consulting knowledge and skills from pre-to post-training(P<0.001).A total of 23 participants accepted follow-up interview,and most participants applied knowledge and skills learned from the training in their daily work or study.However,only 30.4%of participants applied their learning in the consulting program.The largest barrier of application was the lack of consulting opportunities.In addition,almost all the participants reported that they would be glad to attend more training courses in the future.Conclusion:The international consulting training program was well-received,and was feasible to improve the consulting service competence of global health professionals.According to participants’feedback,it is essential to develop and expand consulting training in the field of global health.

Global health education in U.K. universities

Background:The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has led to a paradigm shift in global health,casting a previously niche academic discipline into a headline dominating field of research.However,accurate information on the delivery of global health education(GHE)at a university level is lacking.This study aims to assess current GIIE practices in U.K.universities,by identifying the availability of dedicated global health qualifications,as well as the breadth of inclusion of GHE topics across university course content.Methods:Universities selected were the top 25 recipients of MRC funding in 2015-2016,as well as universi­ties who were included in previous iterations of the“Global Health League Table”.We used the Consortium of Universities for Global Health“GHE Competencies Toolkit”to identify the presence of global health content across university global health and other course offerings.Universities were additionally judged on opportunities available in global health and on the presence of sustainable partnerships.Results:Our results showed that 20 universities(74%)offer a post-graduate global health related course,with 9(33%)offering an undergraduate global health related course.13(48%)were identified as centers of global health excellence.Just 12(44%)universities had registered sustainable partnerships with Tropical Health and Education Trust.The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was identified as the top deliverer of GHE,with the Universities of Leicester and the Universities of Exeter joint bottom.We were unable to standardize quality assessments in this iteration of the project,but the release of student feedback to future assessors would help to improve the reliability of this study methodology.Additionally,much of our data was based on information available online,and thus some aspects of degree courses not published publicly may not have been accounted for in our scoring.Conclusion:Those institutions wishing to improve their delivery of GHE should consider the establishment of a postgraduate or undergraduate degree course.Breadth of global health content across curricular was a major discriminating factor between institutions,and we would advise universities to consider including more global health topics across their curricular-especially in light of the intersectional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chromoblastomycosis:a tropical-subtropical fungal disease with pathognomonic features not to be neglected in a global health scenario

Chromoblastomycosis(CBM)is a fungal disease,distributed in tropical and subtropical regions,affecting mainly rural workers.It is characterized by chronic skin lesions that may vary from nodular,tumorous,verrucous or plaque type.Associated constitutional symptoms are rarely found.The histological presentation may yield a pathognomonic feature,the Medlar(sclerotic)bodies,in which a typical brown to black pigment is depicted,explaining“copper pennies”as its alias.In this article,the case of a 56-year-old woman in the countryside of Brazil is reported,whose main complaint was a chronic leg ulcer for the past 8 years.The left leg had a large,partially ulcerated plaque lesion was found.Microbiological cultures were positive for the pathogen.Histological analysis demonstrated pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia,lymphohistiocytic infiltrate and sclerotic bodies(“copper pennies”).CBM’s epidemiological panorama,once established uniquely by geographical distribution,is transitioning to a global health issue,influenced by immunosuppressive conditions,global warming and migration.This scenario demands CBM to be widely considered as a differential diagnosis and may represent a clinical challenge in regions whose professionals have little expertise in infectious tropical diseases.

Beyond the bedside:A review of translational medicine in global health

Translational research is a broad field of medicine with several key phases moving from scientific discovery to bench research and the hospital bedside,followed by evidence-based practice and population-level policy and programming. Understanding these phases is crucial when it comes to preventing and treating illness,especially in global health. Communities around the world struggle with a variety of health problems that are at some times similar and at others quite different. Three major world health issues help to outline the phases of translational research:vaccines,human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiencysyndrome,and non-communicable diseases. Laboratory research has excelled in many of these areas and is struggling in a few. Where successful therapies have been discovered there are often problems with appropriate use or dissemination to groups in need. Also,many diseases would be better prevented from a population health approach. This review highlights successes and struggles in the arena of global health,from smallpox eradication to the impending epidemic of cardiovascular disease,in an attempt to illustrate of the various phases of translational research.

The power of the public purse: financing of global health partnerships and acienda setting for sustainability

Public-private partnerships(PPPs) have reshaped the institutional structure of global governance.They have advanced collaboration on core issues such as health, clean energy, the rights of women and children, and access to infrastructure, among others. But which actors create and finance public-private partnerships in global governance to advance such objectives? What are the implications of the agency behind such collaboration for influencing the global agenda on sustainable development? While some scholars and advocacy groups see the growing role of private actors as a powershift away from public institutions, others argue that such arrangements tend to be complementary to public mandates and indeed may provide a new means for international institutions to pursue such mandates. The article probes this debate by analyzing the type of actors that finance global health partnerships, an area in which the influence of hybrid initiatives is particularly prominent. It reveals that public financing remains a core and necessary condition for the emergence and functioning of PPPs. The growing share of private financing,nonetheless, has important implications for shaping partnerships agendas and steering global health and sustainability governance. Rather than a powershift or abdication of responsibilities by the state, there is rather a tendency of deliberate diffusion of power by donors toward hybrid structures.

A Brief Talk on How to Promote China Health and Quarantine at Points of Entry in the Framework of Global Health

Global health concerns about the health of the global population and the concepts of global health are gradually being accepted by all of the countries in the world.China health and quarantine at points of entry(POEs) is an integral part of global health,and its duty of prevention and control of the communicable diseases in POEs is consistent with the duty of global health to promote the health of global population.Under the principle of "prevention first",health and quarantine organ carries out the work of disease prevention and control and international travel health care,the reinforcement of core capacity at POEs,and focuses on human rights protection.All the same,there are some gaps with the requirements of global health,such as the inadequate of health promotion planning capacity,ethics awareness and legal protection.The future work of health and quarantine should change ideas on communicable diseases prevention at POEs,focus more on ethical consideration,and should optimize system architecture and human resources,strengthen cooperation,maintain core capacity at POEs,thus to build points of entry public health system with Chinese characteristics,meanwhile to apply the concepts of global health deeply into every aspects of health and quarantine at POEs.

Evaluation of a multidisciplinary global health online course in Mexico

Background:Global Health Education(GHE)focuses on training proactive global citizens to tackle health challenges in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world.Studies show that health professionals in training have reported that GHE has improved their teamwork,responsiveness to contextual factors that impact health,and understanding of health systems;however,there is little research on the impact of GHE courses in undergraduate settings,especially in low and middle-income countries(LMICs).Methods:Our study analyzes a multidisciplinary online global health course at Tecnologico de Monterrey,México.We conducted a cross-sectional study with pre-and post-design.Students who took the multidisciplinary course of Global Health for Leaders in the Fall of 2019(n=153)and Spring of 2020(n=348)were selected for this study.Using a five-point Likert scale(strongly agree to strongly disagree),the survey assessed seven competencies as well as questions about course expectations,takeaways,and recommendations to improve the course.We performed descriptive statistical analyses comparing the combined pre-tests(from Fall and Spring cohorts)to the combined post-tests.Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the samples.Results:Of the 501 pre-course surveys administered,456 responses were completed in the pre-course and 435 in the post-course(91%overall response rate).Only 8.7%of the respondents in the pre-course survey strongly agreed that they could describe fundamental aspects of global health such as the Millennium Development Goals or Sustainable Development Goals,in contrast to a 56%of the students who strongly agreed in the post-course survey(p<0.001).Similar differences were captured in understanding the global burden of disease,social determinants of health,the effects of globalization in health,health systems’goals and functions,and human rights.38%felt that the course helped them develop a more empathetic perception of the suffering of others experiencing global health-related issues.Conclusion:In this study,we have presented our experience in teaching an online global health course for multidisciplinary undergraduates in a LMIC.The competencies reported by our students indicate that the course prepared them to confront complex global health issues.

Global health collaborative research:beyond mandatory collaboration to mandatory authorship

Collaborative research between the global north and global south is common and growing in number.Due to inability of local governments to fund research,global north actors provide the bulk of research funding.While providing mutual benefits,global collaborative research projects are far from ideal.In this paper,we review the authorship discrepancies in global collaborative research,discuss preventive measures in place and their shortfalls,and recommend an intervention to address the problem.Malawi research guidelines recommend collaboration between foreign and local researchers in locally conducted research.However,there is no provision requiring joint authorship in final published papers.Journal recommendations on authorship criteria exist,but they can disadvantage low-and middleincome country researchers in collaborative projects because of exclusionary interpretations of guidelines.For example,the requirement for authors to make substantial contributions to conception or design of the work may favor research grant holders,often from the global north.Systematic and holistic changes proposed to address power asymmetries at the core of the problem have been proposed.However,these proposals may take a long time to produce change.Ad interim,local institutions can take more direct action to address inequalities by establishing offices of research integrity to enforce mandates to increase opportunities for authorship in collaborative research.

China-UK partnership for global health:practices and implications of the Global Health Support Programme 2012-2019

Background:Over the past few decades,a series of major challenges to global health have successively emerged,which call for China’s deeper engagement in global health governance.In this context,the China-UK Global Health Support Programme(GHSP)was launched in 2012 with about 12 million pounds funded by the United Kingdom.Objectives:The GHSP was expected to explore a new type of China-UK partnership to strengthen the cooperation in global health,and enhance China’s capacity to engage in global health governance and provide effective development assistance in health(DAH),in order to jointly improve global health outcomes.Programme design and implementation:The GHSP was programmed to support capacity building activities in Chinese experience distillation,DAH,global health governance and pilot partnership at national and institutional levels between October 2012 and March 2019.These activities were assigned to different project implementing agencies(PIAs)and their project cooperative agencies(PCAs)or pilot areas,and were then implemented under the guidance and management by the strategic oversight committee and the project management office of GHSP respectively.Main achievements:At the national level,the GHSP held five rounds of China-UK high-level dialogues,conducted studies on China Global Health Strategies to provide robust evidence for developing and issuing relevant national policies,and supported the establishment of the China Global Health Network.At the institutional level,the GHSP funded a series of activities in research,training,international exchange and pilots etc.,produced a large number of high-quality research outputs and policy briefings,cultivated a group of PIAs and individual researchers,facilitated the partnership building between the PIAs and PCAs,enhanced the practical ability of Chinese institutions to conduct overseas DAH,and improved the health service delivery and outcomes in pilot areas of three Asian and African countries.Policy implications:In the GHSP,China and UK have established a good model for North-South Cooperation and the programme facilitated the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by building a new type of bilateral partnership and carrying out triangular cooperation practices.This model has demonstrated huge potential for cooperation through partnership and can also be referred to by other countries to develop bilateral partnerships.

Adaptation of the CUGH global health competency framework in the Chinese context:a mixed-methods study

Background In 2014,the Consortium of Universities for Global Health(CUGH)developed a global health competency framework and called for its validation.Given China’s increasing engagement in global health over the past decade,there is a need for a tailored competency framework to enhance the capacity of its workforce.This study aimed to localize the CUGH global health framework within the Chinese context,offering guidance to public health professionals in China to bolster their capabilities for international endeavors.Methods Employing a modified Delphi consultation approach,this study adapted the CUGH global health competency framework through three consultation rounds and a panel discussion.A questionnaire employing a five-point Likert scale was developed to gather opinions from 37 experts on the significance and feasibility of each competency within the Chinese setting.Profiling information,judgment criteria,and familiarity with each competency were collected to assess experts’authority levels.Furthermore,a priority survey was administered to 51 experts to identify key competencies and provide recommendations for bolstering the capabilities of China’s public health professionals.Data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel.Results The adapted framework comprises 10 domains and 37 competencies including:1.Global Burden of Disease;2.Social-economic,Environmental and Behavioral Determinants of Health;3.The Impact of Globalization on Population Health,Health Systems,and Healthcare;4.Major Global health initiatives and efforts;5.Ethics,Health Equity and Social Justice;6.Sociocultural,Political Awareness and Policy Promotion;7.Personal Competencies and Professional Practice;8.Capacity strengthening;9.Collaboration,Partnering and Communication;10.Programme Management.The priority survey underscored Domain 9,10,and 4 as the foremost concern for Chinese public health professionals,urging active learning,critical thinking,open communication,experiential learning,and case-based studies.Institutions were advised to enhance their capacity,foster partnerships,and discern China’s distinct role in the global health arena.Conclusions This study adapted the CUGH framework within the Chinese context,evaluating the significance and feasibility of each competency.The adapted framework can serve as a tool for developing global health curricula and delineating roles for Chinese public health professionals.To ensure contextual compatibility,testing of the framework with diverse public health professionals is recommended,enabling precise refinement of competencies based on empirical results.

Deployment of workforce in global health:what should be the priorities for China?

Background:China has increasingly emerged as an important player in global health.However,compared to developed countries,China still lacks a sufficient health workforce for global health engagement with the necessary competencies required.The world has recognized that to solve global health issues,the role of China needs to be strengthened.The priorities for the deployment of the Chinese workforce in global health remain unclear.This study aims to identify the priorities of the deployment of Chinese global health workforce by exploring the core competencies for Chinese global health workforce,factors influencing the deployment and the approach of deployment.Methods:Quantitative descriptive statistical analysis was applied to analyze the quantitative data.A total of 148 key respondents from 10 provinces in China conducting global health projects over the last 3 years were selected as the study subjects.A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the data on four aspects,including general information,core competencies,factors influencing deployment,and mode of deployment.The questionnaire was distributed to the respondents through an online survey.All original data were exported to Microsoft Excel 2010 to calculate the frequencies and percentages of each option.A descriptive analysis was carried out of the priorities of deployment of the Chinese global health workforce.Results:More than half of the respondents(51.4%,76/148)regarded“communication”as the most important competency of the Chinese global health workforce,while a large proportion of participants from Chinese embassies(50.0%,6/12)and international organizations(75.0%,12/16)believed that“professional skills”were paramount.In addition,58.1%(86/148)of the participants agreed that incentive factors(salary,professional position,etc.)were the main factors that influenced deployment,whereas 75%(12/16)of participants from international organizations emphasized“security”as the most important determinant.In addition,60.8%(90/148)of the participants thought that the deployment of staff should be based on the needs of the global health project implementation.Conclusions:This study highlights the deployment priorities of the Chinese global health workforce,including strengthening communication and professional skills,focusing on personal security and incentives,and catering to the project implementation.This study also highlights the importance of Chinese agencies in developing global health mindsets through global health practices and proactive integration within the global community.