A review of local global health education in post-graduate medical education

Background

Global health (GH) education is offered in post-graduate medical education (PGME) programs and local experiences are desired by trainees and educators. This scoping review aimed to map the literature on local GH education in PGME, to describe curricular components, factors facilitating successes, and challenges to implementation using a validated education intervention checklist and inclusion of seven components of local GH programming.

Methods

A decolonization conceptual framework informed a 5-step scoping review. In May 2022, eight databases and MedEdPORTAL were searched using key words describing local GH education curricula.

Results

Sixty-eight full-text articles described local GH education programs in residencies (n = 52; 76.4%) and fellowships (n = 10; 14.7%) spanning multiple specialties, predominantly in North America (90%). Successful programs included faculty mentoring, community-based partnerships, and a multidisciplinary component. Scheduling challenges, cultural and linguistic differences, and trainee workload contributed to implementation difficulties. Only four programs included all seven local GH health equity/decolonization components.

Conclusions

Local GH curricula vary widely in clinical experiences, didactic sessions, and inclusion of mentorship and partnerships. Local populations within the communities of these training programs could benefit from standardized inclusion of components for local global health education with careful consideration of health equity.