Partnerships in Global Health Equity

The purpose of the Partnerships in Global Health Equity Committee will be to provide vision, direction, and advice to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences community (including relevant curriculum committees and Deans) regarding the Committee’s functions.

  1. College of Nursing & Health Sciences
  2. Nursing
  3. Global Health Education
  4. Partnerships in Global Health Equity
Image of clinical partner site Corazon Contento Nicaragua

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences was the first in the University to have a standing committee devoted to global issues.

History and Purpose

In October 2005 a Global Nursing Taskforce was created. For four years, the Taskforce worked diligently, collaborating with members of other colleges and school at Seattle University and the greater Seattle area. The Taskforce sponsored events to raise global awareness and provided opportunities to dialogue about global health issues. In recognition of our students’ overwhelming excitement and requests for global experiences, as well as in keeping with the growing, campus-wide work of internationalization, a proposal was set before the College of Nursing and Health Sciences Faculty Assembly to transform the Taskforce into a standing Committee. In March of 2009 the proposal was approved by that body and the Partnerships in Global Health Equity Committee (PGHEC) continues its hard work on behalf of our students and faculty to this day.

The purpose of the Partnerships in Global Health Equity Committee will be to provide vision, direction, and advice to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences community (including relevant curriculum committees and Deans) regarding the Committee’s functions.

 

The Partnerships in Global Health Equity Committee is proud to partner with other College and University groups to sponsor a number of events each year which bring together members of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences who are interested in global health with the larger SU and Seattle communities. Our goal for these events is to bring attention to important global health subjects, share information and opportunities about work being done globally, and create an environment for discussion and learning about global health issues.

Some of our past events have included:

  • Summer 2023 Student Presentation of Scholarship from Guatemalan Immersion
  • Youngran Young presents her research with HIV among married Cambodian women
  • Zambia Speaker Panel including representatives from Professionals without Borders and the College of Nursing
  • Drs. Bonnie Bowie and Danuta Wojnar present their research with Somali Families
  • Dr. Peter Chedraui, MD – faculty at Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil (Ecuador) and obstetrician-gynecologist at Hospital Sotomayor in Guayaquil
  • Dr. Karen Feldt – discussed her experiences pursuing a scholarly partnership with National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
  • Global Health Speaker Series: SU Students Abroad - SU students, Hannah Rolston, Allison Cauvel, Christine Luong, and Alexandra Valente discussed their education abroad experiences in Africa, Belize, and Nicaragua
  • Dr. Vinod Diwan, Professor in Epidemiology and Head of the Division of Global Health/IHCAR at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, presented “Karolinska Institutet as a Global University: Our Rights and Responsibility”
  • Dr. Josephine Etowa, presented on Cultural Competency in Nursing
  • SU Nursing Students, discussed their experiences abroad in a presentation entitled “Making Meaning from Service-Learning in Belize” 

The Partnerships in Global Health Equity Committee (PGHEC) recommends the following resources to inform your exploration of global health.

Online Resources

Documentaries

Journals and Books

Many of these publications can be accessed at the Seattle University Library.

  • Wilson, J., Merry, S., & Franz, W. (2012). Rules of engagement: The principles of underserved global health volunteerism. The American Journal of Medicine,125(6), 612-617.
  • Cosgrove, S, Idiaquez, J., Bent, L.J., Gorvetzian, A. (2021). Surviving the Americas: Garifuna persistence from Nicaragua to New York City. University of Cincinnati Press
  • Saussy, H. (2010). Partner to the Poor: A Paul Farmer Reader.
  • Farmer, P. (2005). Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor.
  • Farmer, P. Kim, JY., Kleinman, A., Basilico, M. (2013). Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction.

Guatemala Village Health is an organization vetted by College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS) faculty, who have worked independently of the CNHS. They offer twice yearly 10-14 day health care delegations to the remote Eastern communities of Izabal, Guatemala. This organization partners with community based health promotors and provides health care services, permaculture training, nutrition education, safe water and smokeless stoves, and composting toilets. These trips involve long hours of travel over dirt roads, communal living, outhouses and group meals. The communities served are among the poorest in Guatemala, and often lack electricity and running water. There are multiple opportunities for DNP projects—please contact Kelly McBroom and she will connect you to the Director to explore options.

Child Family Health International offers ethically designed clinical experiences in India, South Africa, Argentina, The Philippines, Uganda, Bolivia, Mexico, Ghana and Ecuador. Also has online courses on the Pillars of Public Health.

ISEP Study Abroad offers a mixture of public health coursework and hospital rotations for Summer or December in London, Costa Rica, Ghana.

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences has a long history of doing Global Health trips. Some of our past programs are listed below. India, Philippines and Uganda programs under development for 2026.

Peru 2025

Guatemala 2023-2025

Belize 2012-2019

Bolivia 2018

Nicaragua 2014-2017

Sweden 2011-2013