Visiting Trainees in Global Settings: Host and Partner Perspectives on Desirable Competencies

Area of Science:

• Global Health Education
• Interprofessional Competencies
• Cross-cultural Collaboration

Background:

• Existing global health competencies primarily reflect high-income country (HIC) perspectives.
• Partners in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are underrepresented in shaping global health education.
• Trainees in short-term global health experiences (STEGH) are supervised by LMIC partners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify priority competencies and learning objectives from the perspective of LMIC partners.
• To understand LMIC stakeholders' needs and expectations for global health education.
• To inform the ethical and collaborative design of global health education programs.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed existing interprofessional global health competencies.
• Developed and administered a web-based survey in English and Spanish.
• Analyzed survey data using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Over 85% of respondents emphasized cultural awareness and respectful conduct during STEGH.
• No respondents believed trainees arrive as independent practitioners to address healthcare gaps.
• 60% of respondents did not consider trainee fluency in the local language as important.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences exist in perceived global health competencies between HICs and LMICs.
• Incorporating host partner insights can lead to more ethical and effective global health education.
• This research promotes a paradigm shift towards shared agenda-setting and true collaboration in global health education.