Global Health Advocacy
Local Advocacy Opportunities ~ Global Health Alliance
The GLUE (Global & Urban Health and Equity) curriculum combines classroom based education, applied service-learning or research experiences, and participation in local advocacy activities.
Check out this calendar for opportunities to advocate for health equity in Detroit!
Local Advocacy Sites
| Program | Brief Description | Partner/ Site Leader |
| Detroit Life Is Valuable (DLIVE) | Repeat gun violence prevention program | Tolu Sonuyi, MD |
| Oakland Avenue Urban Farm | Agricultural urban landscape, cultivating healthy foods, sustainable economies, and active cultural environments. | Jerry Hebron |
| Immigrant Health Mobile Clinic | Mobile integrated health delivery system for immigrant populations, mental health, preventive care, nutritional care, social work. | Ijeoma Nnodim, MD |
| Wayne Children Healthcare Access Program Pediatric Asthma Care | Comprehensive home visits to children with asthma | Theresa Holtrop, MD |
| Edward S Thomas Community & Public Health | HIV, HCV testing and Linkage to care | Bethany Foster |
| Detroit Health Department | Maternal & Child Health, Environmental Health and safety, Food safety , Emergency Preparedness, HIV, TB | Joneigh Khaldun, MD Christine He umann, MD Dana Kissner, MD |
| Mariner's Inn | Homeless, substance abuse, rehabilitation, social services | Chandra Carr, PhD, MSW Curtis Beard |
| Adult Well Being Services | Integrated primary care for uninsured and immigrant populations | Chandra Carr, PhD, MSW Laton ya Riddle, MD |
| Freedom House | Asylum and refugee legal and social services | Thomas "TJ"Rogers |
| Ruth Ellis House | Transgender youth health and social services | Mo Connolly, MD |
| PEACH | Pediatric school based outreach clinical services - physical exams, health fairs, teddy bear clinics | Amrit Misra, MD, JeYeon Kim, MD |
| International Institute | Immigrant welfare and integration, cultural awareness and competence education. | Nada Dalgamouni |
| Authority Health (Detroit Wayne County Health Authority) | Population health: Health insurance enrollment and navigation, primary care services, and health workforce development. | Dennis Archa mbault |
| Global Detroit | Economic revitalization through immigrant social and economic empowerment | Gracie Xavier |
| Office of Immigrant Affairs | Assistance with immigrant integration, access to services, resources, and economic development of immigrant communities | Fayrouz Saad |
| Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) | Community - based research, medical, public health, menta l health, and social services as well as cultural competency educational programs | Hassan Jaber |
| Global Health Initiative Henry Ford Health | Identify and implement health issues and solutions that affect marginalized and vulnerable populations locally and globally through collaborative research and educational programs. | Dana Parke Doreen Dankerlui, MPH |
| DMC Emergency Medicine | Community first aid education classes | Kristiana Kaufmann, MD |
| Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP) | Free breast and cervical cancer screenings for un/underinsured women, & mobile mammograms with St. Johns Health System. | Latonya Riddle, MD |
Metropolitan Detroit is a rich tapestry of racial, ethnic, national, socio-economic, sexual, neurologic and able diversity. It also has a long history of grassroots community activism and advocacy addressing social, economic, and health injury and injustice. Home to significant health disparities and inequities that reflect global realities, the region offers global health scholars and practitioners the unique opportunity for bi-directional service, learning, and research that provide benefit for local and international citizens. Global lessons could be applied to solve local problems and vice-versa. To effectively serve the local community, it is important to be aware of and understand local realities. Thus, global-local site experiences are immersion opportunities to increase exposure to and awareness of local issues of health and socioeconomic disparities and inequities as it relates to vulnerable populations in our immediate community. WSUGHA has built collaborative relationships with local organizations to provide educational experiences to our scholars.
Scholars are expected to spend 1 full day at least 1 site per quarter (every 3 months) for a total of at least 8 site visits over the course of the 2 year curriculum (4 visits per year). In order to ensure a diverse experience, scholars are expected to visit at least 1 non-governmental agency, 1 governmental agency, 1 community organization meeting, and 1 clinical/community service experience.
Scholars who are unable to travel internationally for their longer-term service-learning experience will likely be completing a local capstone project and are encouraged to exceed this minimum requirement. During their global health elective block, they are expected to work with 1 site that pertains to their capstone project, but build a stronger relationship with that community partner. They will also conduct similar work, which are held to the same standards, as their peers who worked locally. Scholars who have participated in their residency community health electives/requirements (pediatrics, internal medicine-pediatrics, authority health), can have their experiences count towards this requirement as long as they submit a reflective piece about their experiences.
During each visit, the scholar will work with a site leader who will provide an orientation to key issues affecting the population served. They will also be expected to interview the organizational leadership, staff, and clients to further understand the organizational mission, process, and practice. The goal is to gain awareness about the social determinants of health affecting these populations and gain appreciation for the complexity of their health experience which should inform the design and implementation of appropriate multi-contoured health interventions. This buttresses the Global health principle of community-led interdisciplinary interventions for long term, sustainable impact on health outcomes.
As already indicated, any academic, educational, or service product that results from all endeavors will be shared with the community and site partners.
As a bonus, all scholars are encouraged to participate in local cultural and community events such as festivals, town hall meetings, cultural group meetings, as well as explore cultural businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants, arts and crafts, etc.
There will be opportunities for global health advocacy through online resources to understand key issues, acquire communication tools effective messaging, and build partnerships with community leaders and political representatives. Before embarking on any global or local site visit, Global Health scholars must complete online pre-departure workshops as well as cultural competency/humility simulations. After each site experience, scholars will complete a reflective exercise online. Opportunity for small group discussion of reflections will be provided throughout the year.