Global Health Challenges : Issues in preparing students for developing skills and competencies in global health - a middle range future perspective

Abstract

Health care professionals are increasingly faced with challenges that require an understanding of global health trends, practices and threats. The PubMed search was limited to articles published in the Lancet journal between 2016 and 2017 with a special effort to better understand future perspectives of global health issues and ultimately to plan, reconstruct and develop the curriculum for the next cohort of the Master’s Programme in Global Health Care. The database search identified 102 references of which the abstracts were reviewed more closely. As a result, the most prominent health issues are related to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) – a diverse group of communicable diseases highlighting the importance of vaccination coverage and adequate sanitation. Organic and inorganic pollutants also pose a challenge in the form of increased burden of disease. Burden of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and memory disorders increase globally. Furthermore, the need for prevention, recognition and treatment of mental health problems are obvious. Unexpectedly, there were no articles related to the content of female genital mutilation (FMG) issues. Nevertheless, we became convinced that FMG cannot be omitted from the curriculum.