Global Health Education

What Is It and How Was It Created?

This Global Women’s Health (GWH) curriculum was created in response to survey findings of Canadian Obstetrics and Gynaecology residency programs. Briefly, the survey was designed to answer:

Importance of GWH to residents and program directors
90% of surveyed program directors and 86% of residents felt that an understanding of GWH and related issues were important for Canadian trainees
Current GWH teaching and support
Minority of program directors (10%) and residents (14%) felt that their programs offered sufficient GWH education. However, 63% of residents in programs with a GWH curriculum felt they would learn about these issues without undertaking international electives, compared to 18% of residents in programs without a formal curriculum.
Level of interest in a national postgraduate GWH curriculum
The survey study concluded that there is a great appreciation for education and competency pertaining to GWH during residency. Additionally, there is a high level of interest in a national postgraduate GWH education module.

Millar. H.C. et al. (2015). Global women’s health education in Canadian obstetrics and gynaecology residency programs: A survey of program directors and senior residents. JOGC, 37(10), 927-935.

Goal

This GWH Curriculum is designed specifically for Canadian Obstetrics and Gynaecology residents. The goal of these seven modules is to provide a comprehensive introduction to key medical, ethical, and sociocultural issues encountered not only in an international context, but also within the multicultural backdrop of Canadian society. Understanding global health priorities is critical in developing culturally competent approaches to care and advocate for vulnerable populations.

Future Direction

The curriculum is currently in its pilot stage, with hopes to expand to other Canadian Ob/Gyn residency programs. We encourage and appreciate your feedback so that we may assess the curriculum’s utility and effectiveness. We hope to continue to adapt the curriculum’s content, design format, and online platform to meet the changing needs of residents and the Canadian patient population.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the work of Dr. Heather Millar (1), Dr. Tatiana Freire-Lizama (1), Dr. Elizabeth Randle (2), Dr. Heather Scott (2), Dr. Dorothy Shaw (3), Dr. Nancy Kent (3) and Dr. Amy Nakajima (4) upon which this initiative is based on. Additionally, we would like to highlight the support we’ve received from the APOG, SOGC, and the University of Toronto Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Dr. Rachel Spitzer (1) and Azra Shivji (1)

(1) Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Toronto, Toronto ON
(2) Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS
(3) Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC
(4) Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON

Cases

Case 1: Abortion
Case 2: Genital Cutting PDF
Case 3: Obstructive Labor PDF
Case 4: Cervical Cancer PDF
Case 5: PMTCT and HIV PDF
Case 6: Technology Innovations PDF
Case 7: Andrew's Global Health Elective

Feedback

The goal is to have this resource on an online platform with the materials and multimedia resources embedded. While this is being developed, we would greatly appreciate your feedback so we may tailor the module to better suit residents’ needs. We have created an online feedback submission form located here.

Please fill in your anonymous feedback in this form.

Thank you!