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Postgraduate Certificate - Advanced Tropical Medicine and Challenges in International Health

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Deadline: 1 juli 2024

Postgraduate Certificate

25 ECTS-credits

English

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Over de opleiding

Algemeen

This Postgraduate Certificate Programme consists of two short courses:

  • Challenges in International Health
  • Tropical Medicine and Clinical Decision Making


FOR WHOM? 

Are you a physician and are you eager to broaden your horizons in health? Do you want to be better equipped to work in emergencies or with people in vulnerable situations globally? Do you have ambitions for a career in international health at local, national and international organizations? Do want to learn more about tropical medicine? Then this postgraduate certificate programme is for you!  


Challenges in International Health:

WHY?  

Recent diseases outbreaks such as the Ebola virus and the COVID-19 pandemic, and humanitarian emergencies due to the climate crises have urged health actors globally to recognise the need for improved crisis preparedness and emergency response. Due to demographic transitions, countries are faced with a rise in non-communicable diseases? while the prevention and control of infectious diseases still pose major challenges. Policy makers and governments need to ensure universal access to good quality care for all while paying particular attention to people in vulnerable situations.  


Some dichotomies such as local versus global, tropical versus non-tropical, communicable versus non-communicable, imported versus domestic are losing their relevance. International health needs to encompass all these perspectives/dimensions. 


These challenges require context-adapted and multidisciplinary responses. Evidence from basic and implementation research will be important to guide decision makers and health workers across the globe. 


WHAT? 

This 12-week course on “Challenges in International Health” will provide you with a good understanding of the complex picture of health challenges globally in general and in deprived, vulnerable settings in particular. Through case studies from various settings, you will analyse the social, anthropological, political, economic and ecological determinants of health, and address health problems from different perspectives including disease control, health service organisation and health policies. You will gain understanding of the complexity of health challenges and learn how to develop, implement, and evaluate health interventions and formulate communication strategies. The course will give you both the theoretical and practical toolsets you need to advance your career. 


HOW? 

You will learn from the scientific expertise and field experience of a multidisciplinary teaching team and from your collaboration with a diverse group of fellow students.

“Challenges in International Health” is organised in English in autumn (October-December) and in French in spring (April-June). 


Tropical Medicine and Clinical Decision Making: focuses on descriptive pathology, laboratory practices and clinical decision-making adapted to low-resource settings and tropical district hospitals. This specialised clinical course is primarily designed for medical doctors who have no or little professional experience in (low-resource) tropical settings, as well as for clinicians working or planning to work in non-tropical settings with travelers and migrants.

Leerdoelstellingen

Upon completion of the course Challenges in International Health, you will be able to: 

1. Regarding health problems prevention and control: 

  • Assess the importance and burden of a particular health problem in terms of frequency, severity, inequity, socio-economic cost and perception  
  • Discuss the different risk factors and determinants (ecological, genetic, social, economic, behavioral, health system related) of health and well-being of populations  
  • Formulate evidence-based and context-specific health programmes/interventions taking the available resources and the perspectives of stakeholders into account in both stable and emergency settings 
  • Address implementation challenges in the prevention and control of key health problems with particular attention for screening, surveillance, outbreak investigation, control and elimination and emergency responses using multisectoral approaches  

2. On health systems management and policies:  

  • Assess a variety of (local) health systems in terms of access, quality of care, organisation of services delivery, stewardship and intersectoral interfaces and collaborations  
  • Critically appraise the crisis preparedness and responsiveness of health systems and health policies to current and emerging challenges  
  • Discuss the major issues in international/global health policy and the development agenda (SDGs) including the role and agency of health policy actors at all levels  

3. Generic skills  

  • Effectively collaborate and clearly communicate in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural setting  
  • Search information in reliable sources and appraise the quality of evidence   
  • Show evidence of a critical and value-based attitude  
  • Choose and apply effective approaches for problem-analysis and problem-solving  
  • Develop life-long learning skills. 

Upon completion of the course Tropical Medicine and International Health, you will be be able to:

  • Assess statements about epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management (including preventive measures and community interventions) of clinical cases presenting with symptoms of tropical diseases
  • Assess statements about clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of clinical cases with an HIV-infection, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases in low resource settings
  • Assess statements about clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of common paediatric, dermatological and gynaecological conditions in a tropical setting
  • Discuss the performances and pitfalls of laboratory tests in a tropical district hospital and interpret their results within a given clinical context;
  • Integrate all domain-specific knowledge (epidemiology, clinical, laboratory) to elaborate a sound differential diagnosis and propose adequate clinical management for clinical cases in a hospital with scarce resources in a tropical setting. 

Collegegeld

€ 2450 EER / 7400 niet-EER

Programme director(s)

  • Ludwig Apers

Programme coördinator(s)

  • Deogratias Katsuva
  • Grizel Sami Alcedo Ascencios

Programme administrator(s)

  • Anne Thoelen
  • Gerlinde Segers
  • Cathy Liu

Contact

  • tmih@itg.be