Availability and Characteristics of Humanitarian Health Education and Training Programs: A Web-Based Review

Abstract

Introduction: Education and training programs are critical to achieve personnel capacity building and professionalization in the rapidly growing humanitarian health sector. Thus, this study aimed to describe the status of humanitarian health education and training programs world-wide. Methods: A web-based analysis was conducted to identify the available humanitarian health programs. The following characteristics of the training programs were described: geographical location, target audience, prerequisite, qualification, curriculum, content, length, modality of delivery, teaching and assessment methods, and tuition fee. Results: The search identified a total number of 142 training programs, most of them available in few countries of the global North. Only seven percent of the identified programs qualified for a master’s degree in humanitarian health. Public health was the most identified content (47.2%). Approximately one-half of the training programs (50.7%) were delivered face-to-face. Theoretical knowledge was the most common method used for teaching and assessment. The duration of the training and tuition fees were different for different programs and qualifications, while target audience, prerequisite, and curriculum design were often vaguely described or missing. Conclusions: The study shows a global inequality in access to humanitarian health training programs due to financial and geographical constraints. The study also reveals gaps in program contents, as well as teaching and assessment methods, all issues that could be addressed by developing cost-effective e-learning and online simulation programs. Lastly, the data from this study provide a learning tool that can be used by humanitarian health educators and training centers to further define and standardize the requirements and competencies of humanitarian health professionals.

Scenario-Based e-Simulation Design for Global Health Education: Theoretical Foundation and Practical Recommendations

“…Unfortunately, in the field of global health, particularly in humanitarian health and disaster medicine, the target audiences are poorly defined [5]. Moreover, the lack of a coherent competency framework or standardized curriculum creates a challenge in defining the training needs and learning objectives [5]. In addition, global health training is rarely incorporated into undergraduate medical and health education programs.…”

“…Despite the growth of training opportunities in global health, the limited availability, unequal geographical distribution, and predominance of theoretical teaching methods in available training programs combined with high tuition fees [4,5] constitute barriers to health workforce capacity building, especially where it is needed the most [5]. Innovative digital technologies and strategies, such as electronic simulation (e-simulation) [6], could address these gaps.…”

“…SBES is an ethical imperative [26] as it allows for effective learning within a safe environment [27]. Therefore, SBES can be applied to various global health-related topics [28], particularly those in high-risk settings, such as disaster medicine [4,29] and humanitarian health [3,5].…”

Humanitarian Action: A Necessity in the Academic Training of Health Professionals

“…For teaching humanism and professionalism, the best is modeling it and the example of the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), which "adopted" virtually all the medical students of Tulane University School of Medicine and continued their education for 8 months after most of New Orleans was flooded on August 29, 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, in which, after the BCM-Tulane experience, BCM developed a disaster-management plan that could help other schools as they plan for disasters [11]. Some authors have identified training programs, most of them available in few countries of the global North, and few qualified for a master's degree in humanitarian health using theoretical knowledge as the most common method used for teaching and assessment, but the duration of the training and tuition fees were different for different programs and qualifications, while target audience, prerequisite, and curriculum design were often vaguely described or missing [12].…”