Our Vision
Who We Are
Ten Guiding Principles
- Our primary purpose is to provide mutually beneficial educational opportunities and experiences for all participants.
- Shared development of programs and projects increases the chance of positive results.
- Prolonged collaborations are more likely to produce substantive change.
- Implemented programs and projects should be sustainable.
- Programs should promote independence rather than dependence.
- Programs should address health improvement for the entire community.
- Participants should respect and learn from the cultural backgrounds of all involved in programs.
- Patient care should only be delivered in association with host health care providers.
- Participants must stay within the scope of their training and expertise.
- Evaluating and following-up on goals and objectives improves the likelihood of long-term success.
The Global Health Initiative at the University of Utah is a cross disciplinary, multi-partner collaboration led by the University of Utah School of Medicine and the Division of Public Health. Working with affiliated partners including the College of Nursing and College of Education, the GHI harnesses the expertise of doctors, faculty, and students to address the triad of global human development challenges – health, education, and economic sustainability.
Our Vision
To improve health around the world and create sustainable change through educational exchanges, developing capacity building models and advancing the science of global health practice in collaboration with local partners.
Our Mission
The Global Health Initiative at the University of Utah promotes health and medical development leading to measurable improvements among populations around the world.
Using research and scholarship as a foundation, we engage in mutually beneficial partnerships that focus on collaboration and sustainable outcomes that transcend local culture, political philosophies and geographic boundaries.
What We Do
We implement a unique model that we have created over the last decade that is based upon a long-term partnership with in-country government representatives, university and hospital faculty, and local village elders and residents.
We provide student, professor and doctor exchanges with partner universities and hospitals worldwide while providing all participants a deeper understanding of each other’s areas of expertise.
In collaboration with our partners, we assess and prioritize local needs, evaluate potential solutions, prioritize projects and create sustainable programs that we extend into local communities in cooperation with partner universities, hospitals, local governments and civic leaders.
We evaluate success, relevance and worthiness of each program for replication in other parts of the country and in other countries around the world where similar need exists.
Selected as one of five programs to be profiled at the 2010 Global Health Council conference, the GHI is earning international attention for its ability to empower host country educators, medical practitioners, and community leaders to build capacity and create measurable, sustainable change, while honoring the culture, policies and practices of both the host and visiting countries.
Please see Find a Program to learn more about specific initiatives such as infectious and chronic disease interventions, the sustainable village project, and economic cooperatives.
Our Model
We have developed a four-phase model that is being rolled out to selected sites around the world. In every case, its implementation is based on local needs. To understand this model better, please download a presentation that focuses on expanding the model beyond Ghana (PPT).
