Human rights and undergraduate healthcare management education

Consideration of the express linkages between health and human rights is an educational initiative of the 21st century. Most healthcare management students do not have a knowledge of human rights principles that apply across health settings worldwide. This lack of knowledge hinders students' ability to view health within a human rights framework and the possible ways in which the protection and promotion of human rights relate to health and wellbeing. With early exposure to human rights concerns, undergraduate students will learn to apply concepts of human dignity, equity, fairness, and justice in job and community experiences. Goals of students' human rights education include expanded world views, understanding of content, and practical skill acquisition. It is especially important for healthcare management students to learn about human rights because violations of human rights have a great impact on health. Human rights education may be offered as a stand-alone course or implemented as a module adaptable to the curriculum requirements of undergraduate healthcare management programs. For example, the health and human rights module may be integrated into bioethics, epidemiology, social issues, or health policy courses. To increase applicability, issues and experiential learning that are relevant to students' future practice should be emphasized.