January 28, 2013
FRONTIERS COURSE
CHALLENGES IN GLOBAL HEALTH: AN ADVANCED SEMINAR
Course directors: Carol McLaughlin and Neal Nathanson
This one-week frontiers course is designed for medical students with a serious interest in
global health. Admission is by permission of the course directors and is limited to 12
students. The course assumes a general background in global health and utilizes a
problem-solving approach with active student participation, including student-prepared
and -led sessions.
The course will have two components, discussion of selected strategic issues in global health
and important methods in global health.

Each strategic issue will be initiated with a lecture/discussion followed by a student
presentation of a relevant case study. Case studies will address topics such as control of
HIV/AIDS, the great neglected diseases, demography and population dynamics,
maternal mortality, and child survival.

Each methodological exercise will be assigned to 3 students who will act as instructors
for the rest of the class. For each exercise, the student instructors will be given a few
structured questions and asked to provide answers using worked examples. A few
short references and possible answers will be provided to the student instructors.
The course will meet from 10 AM to 12 NOON and 1 PM TO 3 PM. This will allow some
preparation time (8-10am and 3-5pm), since students will do most of the presentations and
exercises. Students will be divided into small groups and each group will do one of the
strategic issues and one of the methods exercises.
Strategic issues (mornings)
Monday:
Orientation: Carol McLaughlin, Neal Nathanson
Poverty and health: is wealthier healthier?
Lecture and discussion: Neal Nathanson
Tuesday:
Health and the population bomb: 7 billion and growing
Lecture: Doug Ewbank
Problem for students: Carol McLaughlin
Wednesday: How to invest: vertical vs horizontal health systems
Lecture: Carol McLaughlin
Problem for students: Carol McLaughlin
Thursday: Community-based health programs: BRAC, PIH, Jamkhed
Lecture: Carol McLaughlin
Problem for students: Carol McLaughlin
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Friday:
International AID: help or hindrance?
Lecture: Lee Cassanelli
Problem for students: Neal Nathanson
Methodological skills: a toolkit for implementation science (afternoons)
Student instructors, Neal Nathanson, and Carol McLaughlin
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Preparation time
Life expectancy and burden of disease: measures of health
Cost-effective analysis: best use of limited resources
Metrics for program evaluation: process measures and outcome measures
Online databases: Gapminder; AIDS PROBLEM
AIDS PROBLEM
The AIDS PROBLEM is posted on Blackboard and a hard copy is included in the handout.
The class will be divided into two teams, groups A plus B; groups C plus D. Each team will
be asked to prepare a 10-15 minute presentation in response to the questions in the AIDS
PROBLEM. Following a discussion, we will make a judgment which team made the best
presentation. Members of the “winning” team will be offered support to attend the March
meeting in Washington, DC, of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. Support
will consist of registration fee plus $250 for out of pocket expenses, for each member of the
winning team who decides to attend this meeting.
MONDAY
JAN 28
TUESDAY
JAN 29
WEDNESDAY
JAN 30
AM
10 - Noon
WEALTH
AND
HEALTH
CASE 1:
POPULATION
7 BILLION
CASE 2:
HOW TO
INVEST?
10 – 11
Orientation
Student
Presentations
Dr.
McLaughlin
THURSDAY
JAN 31
CASE 3:
COMMUNITYBASED
HEALTH
PROGRAMS
Dr.
McLaughlin
11 - Noon
Dr.
Nathanson
Dr. Ewbank
Student
Presentations
Student
Presentations
Student
Presentations
A
B
C
D
EXERCISE 1:
LIFE
EXPECTANCY
EXERCISE 2:
COSTEFFECTIVE
ANALYSIS
EXERCISE 3:
PROGRAM
EVALUATION
EXERCISE 4:
DATABASES
D
C
B
A
BRB 253
BRB 253
BRB 253
BRB 253
STUDENT
GROUPS
PM
1-3
PREPARATION
TIME
STUDENT
GROUPS
ROOM
BRB 253
2
FRIDAY
FEB 01
CASE 4:
INTERNATIONAL
AID
Dr. Cassanelli
GROUP
NUMBER
LAST NAME
FIRST
NAME
EMAIL
A
AVERSANO
MICHAEL
mave@mail.med.upenn.edu
A
BOWMAN
ARIEL
abow@mail.med.upenn.edu
A
SARGEN
MICHAEL
msargen@mail.med.upenn.edu
B
BASSETT
ERIN
ebassett@mail.med.upenn.edu
B
FUERST
NICOLE
nfuerst@mail.med.upenn.edu
B
MASSA
SEAN
seca@mail.med.upenn.edu
C
PYCLIK
KRISTINA
kpyclik@mail.med.upenn.edu
C
ROSEN
PHILIP
prosen@mail.med.upenn.edu
C
CLEVELAND
EMILY
cleve@mail.med.upenn.edu
D
SNIR
OLIVIA
halt@mail.med.upenn.edu
D
STEELE
KATHERIN
E
steelek@mail.med.upenn.edu
D
SULLIVAN
BRENDAN
sbrendan@mail.med.upenn.edu
3