Health Professionals in the 21st Century: Results from an Inter Professional and Multi-institutional Global Health Competencies Survey (A Pilot Study)

Introduction: In the new century, worldwide health professionals face new pressures for changes towards more cost-effective and sustainable health care for all populations. Globalization creates daunting challenges as well as new opportunities for institutions and health professionals being more connected and rethink their strategies toward an inter professional practice. Although Health professionals are paying increased attention to issues of global health, there are no current assessment tools appropriate for evaluating their competency in global health. This study aimed to assess global health competencies of family medicine residents, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy students.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in five universities across Ontario, Canada. The online survey drew from 429 participants, including students and residents between May to October 2011. The surveys were previously evaluated for face and content validity and reliability. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the quantitative data. The level of significance was set at 5%.
Results: Self-reported knowledge and confidence in global health issues and global health skills were low for family medicine residents, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy students. The percentage of residents and students who self-reported as confident was less than 60% for all global health issues.
Conclusion: This study also highlights a need for the development of interdisciplinary education in global health. The new century requires professionals competent in global health. Institutions must offer interprofessional approaches and a curriculum that exposes them to varied learning methods and opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills in global health.