Duke University to Establish New Global Health Masters

Add another university to the list of those that have opened their doors to the field of global health.  Duke University is set to join NYU’s Masters in Global Public Health, George Washington’s Masters of Public Health in Global Health, and UC’s recently added Masters of Science in Global Health.  And let’s not forget the LLM Masters of Law global health program at Georgetown University (my not-quite-yet alma mater).

Duke University has approved a new Masters degree–Master of Science in Global Health.  The degree will be offered through the Graduate School and administered by the Duke Global Health Institute. 

“Understanding how to reduce health disparities requires an interdisciplinary perspective, yet the study of health in academic institutions is traditionally confined within disciplinary boundaries,” said DGHI director Michael Merson. “We are proud to be one of the first universities in the country to offer a Master of Science in Global Health that will prepare health professionals, policy makers, researchers and others to approach global health from many perspectives.”

The program focus on disease causation and prevention, global environmental health, global health policy and management, and population sciences and will require an international fieldwork experience of at least 10 weeks.

In recent years, Duke has created a Certificate in Global Health for undergraduates and graduate students, a Global Health Focus Cluster for first- and second-year undergraduates, a Global Health Third Year Study Program for medical students, a postdoctoral fellowship in Global Health, and the Global Health Residency offered jointly by the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health and DGHI.

Apply online to Duke’s Masters program here.

Scholar’s Corner: Recent Scholarly Works in Global Health Law

International Health Care Convergence: The Benefits and Burdens of Market-Driven Standardization

Nathan Cortez
Southern Methodist University- Dedman School of Law

Wisconsin International Law Journal, 2008

Abstract:     
For over thirty years, health scholars have debated whether health care policies are converging, or becoming more alike, internationally. Convergence theories have always been particularly appealing in health care. Most countries generally struggle with the same challenges: how to provide quality care, to as many people as possible, for a reasonable price. Moreover, modern scientific medicine has not only influenced how countries around the world provide and regulate health care, but has also driven rising patient expectations. These commonalities invite theories of convergence: If policymakers in different jurisdictions face similar challenges, why wouldn’t they adopt roughly similar solutions?

In this article, I take the existing scholarship and form a new framework for understanding several recent international health care trends. Rather than focusing on policy convergence driven primarily by the public sector, I argue that the private sector is encouraging health care practices and standards to converge internationally.

I use recent trends to examine this framework, including: international physician and nurse migration; international standardization of medical education; the medical tourism phenomenon; and international trade and standardization of pharmaceuticals, devices, and medical technologies. I also examine various trends pointing towards increased privatization and commercialization-particularly among developing countries-and discuss the unique role that the United States and organizations like the WTO, World Bank, and OECD play in promoting these trends.

I conclude by examining the benefits and burdens of market-driven convergence, including the perils of commercialization, internal “brain drains,” and other phenomena that might warn against promoting convergence and privatization without some limiting mechanisms.

 

Available at SSRN.