For Information

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S.06-6

S

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

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DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES

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MEMORANDUM

TO: ?

SCUP

FROM: ?

Jonathan Driver, Dean of Graduate Studies

SUBJECT: ?

GS2005.43 Global Health

DATE:

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17th November 2005

cc: ?

Arun Chockalingam, Faculty of Health Sciences; Allan Davison,

Faculty of Health Sciences; David Maclean, Faculty of Health

Sciences

I enclose a proposal for a cohort special arrangements master's program in global health.

This was approved by SGSC at its meeting of November 14

th

2005.

This is a pilot program for a permanent professional master's program currently under

development. Approval of a cohort special arrangements program will allow the Faculty

to advertise and recruit students to begin in January 2007. It is anticipated that all

students will transfer to the permanent program once that is approved.

Under rules approved by SCUP and Senate, cohort special arrangement programs are

approved by SGSC, and sent for information to SCUP and Senate.

As this program requires a premium fee, that will require approval by the Board of

Governors.

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GS2005.43

FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

PHONE (604) 291-4821

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FAX (604)

291-5927

MEMORANDUM

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OCT 31 2005

DEAN OF GRADUATE ?

STUDIES OFFICE

DATE: ?

October 31, 2005

TO: ?

Dean of Graduate Studies

FROM: ?

Dr. David MacLean, MD

Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences

RE: ?

Cohort Special Arrangements

As we discussed we are now submitting the proposal for a Cohort Special arrangement Master of

Global Health.

I]

ROOM 282, WEST MALL CENTRE

(WMC) ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, BURN.BY BC

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CANADA,

V5A

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: FHS

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APPLICATION TO OFFER A

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MASTERS DEGREE IN GLOBAL HEALTH

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BY COHORT SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

by ?

Arun Chockalingam, David Maclean, Iraj Poureslami, and Allan Davison

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This proposal for a new degree, a professional MA degree in Global Health (MAGH) in the Faculty of

Health Sciences, is a logical follow-up to the recently initiated MSc in Population and Public Health and

the Diploma in Global Health. In accordance with SFU's cohort special arrangement regulations, the

intention is "to prototype a program that is being considered for development". The NOT for the full

MAGH proposal has recently passed SGSC and is moving through the approval process for preparation

of a full MAGH degree.

The MAGH is designed to prepare current and intended health professionals and others for positions as

practitioners and decision makers in the global health context. The initiative responds to a new urgency

regarding health issues that cross national boundaries. There is a growing need for experts as both

developed and resource constrained nations gear up to meet new challenges. The requisite skills and tool

• set will be imparted in an intensive three-semester 45-credit degree.

The course series will explore the processes that influence health, health systems, and disease patterns

worldwide. Students will focus on the mechanisms whereby globalization influences health, and the

implications for health and health systems and human security. The program will emphasize health

policy and cover major diseases and the underlying influence of technologies, politics, economics, legal

structures, and culture, all in the context of social and physical determinants of health and other trans-

national and global factors. The degree provides the skill-set for practitioners who can serve as agents of

change in helping mitigate health inequities. It will be interdisciplinary, participatory, and problem-

centered, including ethical aspects, issues of cultural sensitivity, fund raising, advocacy and

communication, and local participation in capacity building.

There is substantial demand from students for such a program. Our surveys indicate that many

applicants will be health care professionals or newer graduates with relevant backgrounds and an interest

in global health. The resources needed for successful implementation of the program are available.

Demand from employers for personnel trained in this area is increasing. Outside North America,

international knowledge and skill is at a premium. Most graduates return to higher skill positions in

governmental health departments and agencies, where they may move toward international relations

with respect to health policy. Within Canada and the US, graduates are likely to work with relief

agencies, non-governmental organizations, and federal government agencies that deal with LMICs.

Students will normally complete the degree within three semesters of full admission, proceeding through

the MAGH program as a cohort. They will take five courses in each of two semesters, the initial (spring)

. and final (fall) semester. In the intervening summer semester students will undertake a study-abroad

practicum on a global health issue in a setting where health inequities exist, with a preceptor from an

international organization or NGO.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I Curriculum

1 What the student will gain

21 Course structure and other curricular requirements

I Individual course descriptions

41 Research expectations - Practicum and capstone project

5 j

,

Consultation process

Learning methodologies

I How learning methodologies achieve intended outcomes

2.1 Features

Faulty required to mount this program

1.

Number of faculty and staff required to mount this program and their qualifications.

Existing faculty members contributing to program development

Courses individual faculty members could or would teach or contribute to

2.

Curriculum vitae for faculty members

IVN for the program

VA ission requirements

VI Library costs

II

III

.

Appen

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DOCUMENTATION AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW. PLEASE CONTACT BOBBIE GRANT,

ix I: Course nronosals ?

604 291-3168

OR EMAIL bgrant@sfu.ca

ix II Proposed Calendar Entry

ix III Financial report developed in collaboration with the Dean

ix IV Faculty associated with the MAGH program

ix V Faculty CVs

I CURRICULUM

1. Whit the student will gain

The program will prepare professionals and graduates to become agents of change who can help

mitigate health disparities. Addressing health disparities among countries and sub-populations of the

globe effetively requires an analytical understanding of causes and mechanisms. Political, economic,

sociocultural, and environmental factors, as well as social status, poverty, gender, culture, and ethnicity,

are crucial to community and individual health status, bearing consequences that are particularly acute in

the global context

2.

The proposed program will provide students with skills, experiences, sensitivity,

ethical principles, and insights to respond creatively to health challenges in an interconnected and

globalized world. (Further information is available at vw.ccghr.ca/tO

I .htrnl#championkit). There is

no similar program at SFU and indeed no Masters program in Western Canada that addresses similar

specific needs and skills.

.

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•

2 Course structure and other curricular requirements

Students will take two semesters of intensive course-work, separated by an intervening practicum

semester spent in a location where health inequities are prominent. Some students will meet almost all

the entrance requirements but require conditioning to the requirements of the Canadian university

system or the program itself. They may choose, or be required to participate in, an optional foundation

semester, consisting largely of courses from the proposed Diploma in Global Health.

Semester 1 of

Global Health Courses - spring (January through April)

GLOH 610-3 Organization and reform of health systems

GLOH 620-3 Determinants of global health

GLOH 630-3 Health promotion and disease prevention - from theory to practice

GLOH 640-3 Human security, ethics, and vulnerable populations

GLOH 650-3 Globalization and health

Semester 2:

Practicuni Semester - summer (May through August)

GLOH 698-14 Practicum in Global Health, to include an on-location review of the project proposal,

followed by supervised study of applications to a global health problem in a country or location

where health inequities exist. All aspects of the practicum course will be supervised and evaluated.

Semester 3 of Global Health Courses —fall (September through December)

GLOH 660-3 Occupational and environmental health

GLOH 670-3 Global approaches to disease prevention and control - current challenges

GLOH 680-3 Advocacy and communication in global health

GLOH 690-3 Health and the economy

.

GLOH 699-1 Practicum defence. Capstone requirement

One elective course possibly GLOH 697-3 Special topics in global health

Diploma foundation courses for qualifying or conditionally admitted students fall

(September through December)

GLOH 501-4 Seminar - Selected research applications in global health

GLOH 510-4 Numerical, analytical, and computational foundations for global health studies

GLOH

520-4

Research methods for evidence-based inference in global health

GLOH 530-4 Foundations of epidemiology in global context

GLOH

540-4

A global perspective on the organization and delivery of health services

Other curricular requirements in sequence

Fall 2006

Spring 2007

Summer 2007

Fall 2007

Foundation semester: For

First MAGH

Second MAGH

Third MAGH Semester: Five

students awarded or with

Semester: Five

Semester: Practicum graduate courses plus

potential for conditional entry

graduate courses

course

capstone experience

Learning objectives represented in the curriculum

The scientific and methodological skill set for agents of change in global health is listed in rows of the

left column in the following table. The specific courses in which each skill will be taught are in the

columns. The curriculum will stress the integration of research and health practice. Thus, "We see the

• problem and we know enough to help, and at the same time we need to know more to do even better".?

FHS believes in and will emphasize this unity of approach in global health problem solving.

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3.

Individual course descriptions

Core courses and most of the designated electives have been specifically tailored to the educational

objectives of the program. As is characteristic of professional programs, the curriculum is tightly defined

and specific to the instructional goals with few optional courses. To the extent possible, the program has

been integrated with the existing MSc in Population and Public Health. It includes the two GLOH

courses (revision proposals attached) already in that degree and the one elective could well be filled by

an MSc PPH course. At the same time, the new GLOH courses will provide useful electives for the more

flexible MSc PPH. The relevant full course proposals are attached - see appendix.

4.

Research expectations - Practicum and capstone project

Capstone - Final presentation ofpracticum project work

As part of their admission package, students will outline a potential global health problem, often local to

their country of residence, along with a proposed program to solve or mitigate the problem. During the

first month following commencement in the MAGH program, students will have an opportunity to

choose possible locations for practica, and to change their projects, if necessary. From this point on this

project will be a touchstone for their studies. More than this, in class discussions it will inform other

students of the practical implications of theoretical knowledge to this point of application.

In consultation with their interim advisor, students will identify both a faculty supervisor and a

supervisor local to the project. In the semester following the practicum, students will have a more

concrete context for the remaining five courses. In accordance with SFU Graduate General Regulations

1.9.1 and 1.10.6, they will defend their practicum project by giving an oral presentation on the problem,

. the work done, and the practical implications and consequences of their practicum.

5.

Consultation process

In developing this proposal, advice was incorporated from a wide range of experts. Extensive

preliminary discussions and planning with local experts, were followed by an external report comprising

a needs assessment, recommendations from many universities, and budget. This "Simces" report was

based on interviews with experts across and beyond Canada. It is available upon request. An

internationally renowned expert on Global Health, Dr. Arun Chockalingam, was recruited as the FHS

Director of Global Health.

The program content and structure were then the subject of an International Forum held at the

Wosk Centre for Dialog to discuss SFU's proposal for an MAGH degree. The forum was attended by

many Canadian and international experts in global health, representatives of stakeholders, resource

providers, and NGOs. Those attending unanimously expressed support, while offering a myriad of

useful suggestions. As a result of their suggestions, we defined the client population as currently

employed professionals from both inside and outside Canada; we defined the vision for graduates as

being agents of change for the improvement of global health; we defined a niche for the program as a

focus on policy (cost-effective delivery of positive change) and globalization (the health impact of

international exchange of commodities, finance, commerce, ideas, persons, and agents of disease).

Finally, we have tapped global health expertise of most if not all of the new FHS faculty members.

.

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II

LEARNING METHODOLOGIES

1.

How learning methodologies achieve intended outcomes

Each student's application will include a problem that provides a potential focus for their studies

and the mid-program practicum. Traditional classroom teaching will be supplemented with seminars,

case study laboratories, and practica. Courses will increasingly incorporate web-based resources,

learning 'objects, and possibilities for substantial off-campus completion.

During the teaching semesters, each afternoon will be spent in a three-hour open format guided

discussion in a "laboratory" for one of the five courses of the semester. These will be facilitated by

specialist's and practitioners with hand-on experience as decision makers in global health selected from a

wide range of locations and expertise. In addressing a specific problem, an agent of change needs the

ability to

l

establish a personal connection with resource providers when building and financing a project

team. Part of the competence gained in these laboratories will be that students become individually

acquainted with a selection of decision makers in NGOs and national and international sources. Even a

remote contact or a personal recommendation can make a decisive difference. Sessions will take place in

a computer and media laboratory in which the state-of-the-art information technology can be applied to

the problems under discussion, and where remote teleconferencing can be scheduled.

Eventually most, if not all, courses will be partly or completely available off-campus by web

delivery, starting with the "foundation" courses that could lead to a certificate program for those who do

not finishthe full MAGH program. Courses will provide a common foundation of core methodological

kills

s ?

and an elective to accommodate the specialized needs of students.

2.

Features

Distanc education and independent study

Our survey indicated that a significant number of prospective students want a web component to their

courses, iicluding the possibility of taking some courses solely by web delivery. We have agreed in

principle with LIDC SFU to progressively incorporate these components into the courses. FHS will take

responsibility for providing content and LIDC will provide web design and course delivery resources.

Web/class

1

room integration will complement the integration of classroom exposition with workplace

implementation.

Employbility skills

Cooperative Education SFU has agreed to make their instructional modules on employability and job-

search skills available to our students. The skills most desired by the employers they surveyed are: team-

.

.

Case studies

Wherever possible, courses will incorporate case studies to ensure grounding in current real-world

problems. Learning will be active, rather than a passive memorization of facts. Diverse viewpoints will

be explored in an inclusive way, while inferences will be strictly evidence-based.

Shorter than normal degree completion time

This means that the studies will be compressed and the workload strenuous. Rather than being a

deterrent, however, this will prove attractive to students on leave from work who cannot afford

financially to be out of the workplace long, particularly to international students who have limited-time

grant support or whose employers can release them only for a year.

III FACULTY REQUIRED TO MOUNT THIS PROGRAM

Number of faculty and staff required to mount this program and their qualifications.

In addition to the faculty members currently in place, an anticipated four additional faculty

members will be added as the program evolves to its steady-state enrolment. A total course load often

courses annually plus supervisory and administrative responsibilities, normal study leave, etc would

require incremental staffing to the extent of a total of four new faculty members. Secretarial and

administrative staff would be required in excess of most conventional programs because of the need to

administer the practica placements, practica supervision, and the participation of clinical associates,

preceptors, and a large number of practicum defenses in the fall semester. In addition, experts and

practitioners in relevant aspects of global health from strategic locations worldwide will be recruited as

part time or temporary instructors in team-taught courses. Up to 20 associates will be recruited on

stipend as local supervisors/preceptors in the summer practica. Several other programs at SFU have

faculty with expertise relevant to this program.

In developing the full proposal, every effort will be made to take advantage of opportunities for

sharing course materials and modules across all FHS programs, and of cross-appointments of faculty

from other administrative units as mutually desirable.

program development

Existing faculty members contributing to

Arun Chockalingam (MD, PhD)

Stephen Corber (MD, FRCPC)

Kitty Corbett (PhD)

Allan Davison (PhD)

Craig Janes (PhD)

Michel Joffres (MD, PhD)

David MacLean (MD, PhD)

Marina Morrow (PhD)

Timothy Takaro (MD, PhD)

Rochelle Tucker (PhD)

Leilei Zeng (PhD)

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Courses individual faculty members could or would teach or contribute to

GLOH

6l?03

Organization and reform of health systems

Vertesi, Janes, Corbett

GLOH 620-3 Determinants of global health

Corber, Janes,

GLOH 60-3 Health promotion and disease prevention - from

theory _to_practice

Janes, MacLean, future hire

GLOH

640-3

Human security, ethics, and vulnerable populations

Janes, Corbett, Morrow, Takaro

GLOH 60-3 Globalization and health

MacLean, Morrow, Takaro,

Tucker, Corber

GLOH 660-3 Occupational and environmental health

Takaro, Davison, future hire

GLOH 670-3 Global approaches to disease prevention and control:

Current challenges

Corber, future hire

GLOH

68:0-3

Advocacy and communication in global health

Corbett, Corber

GLOH

69:0-3

Health and the economy

Tucker, Morrow, Corbett

2. Curriculum vitae for faculty members

See Appendix V

IV NEED FOR THE PROGRAM

Justjflctio,z for development

of

the program in terms

of

deinandfroin students

We predict that demand for the program will be overwhelming. This expectation is based on three

lines of e'idence. First, a survey of health professionals and SFU students predictably indicated a

substantial demand for the program from students and professionals from inside Canada. It was,

however, from beyond Canada that a surprising level of interest emerged. With no indication that a

program was imminent or any request for applicants, we received hundreds of letters or emails of

enquiry. Scond, within the ranks of the current MSc in Population and Public Health students, the

Global Health courses have been in demand, and a substantial number of students have volunteered an

interest in the MAGH program were it available now. Each week a couple of dozen enquiries are

received. Finally, our itinerant ambassadors at international conferences overseas have had an

overwhelming level of response from every university they visited and from governmental

representatives across three continents.

We expect to admit some 20 of well over 100 applicants in the initial cohort intake for 2007-1.

This is of course no reason for complacency. Rather, to ensure a high quality of students from the start,

we would like a sufficient applicant pool to be extremely selective. Consequently, we are hoping that the

cohort special arrangement will allow for intense and effective advertising sufficiently in advance for

students to arrange financial support, visas, and leave of absence from employment for the initial year.

V ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Admission requirements will conform to the University minimum standards for admission to a masters

program. They are outlined in the calendar entry (Appendix II).

VI LIBRARY COSTS

The librar' indicates that the cost of supporting the courses for this program will amount to about $7800

per year. The commitment of the Faculty of Health Sciences to meeting these costs is confirmed in the

course proposal forms. In addition, should the program be offered at SFU Harbour Centre, the library

has identified specific additional costs. We confirm that any budget for downtown delivery will include

a line iteml for these additional library costs.

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