Public health students initiate virtual exchange with students in Mexico
| March 30, 2012 | |
UNC public health students engage in the videoconference.
Transcending geographic barriers through the use of technology, students at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and students at the Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, dialogued about priorities in public health in Mexico and in the United states via a videoconference on March 28. This unique student opportunity emerged through the efforts of maternal and child health graduate student, Pamela Shields, who leads the Spanish practice student group at the School.
“I wanted to create a professional forum for practicing Spanish that was grounded in current public health issues,” Shields said.Pam and her co-leader in Mexico, Katia Yetzani García Maldonado, nutrition graduate student at INSP, coordinated the event that included 12 short talks presented by eight INSP students and seven UNC students. The talks focused on public health priorities across multiple disciplines in Mexico and the United States.
Student presentations included aging and health, childhood obesity and maternal mortality in Mexico, along with breastfeeding, nutrition-based health disparities and the current debate surrounding family planning and health insurance in the United States. Additional discussions focused on infectious disease, chronic disease, immigration and healthier foods in schools in both countries. 
Students at the Institute of Public Health in Mexico.
Shields initially contacted INSP student leaders via established institutional ties between the School and INSP. Together, the students established a Facebook group to initiate dialogue and assess interest in further exchange. The Facebook group, named ConnectAmericas, quickly grew to 55 members across both institutions. Using it to exchange information and areas of interest, students in both countries enthusiastically rallied around the idea of organizing the videoconference to share and discuss more substantive topics of interest.”The Facebook group and the videoconference speak to the School’s vision of using technology to reach out to the global community,” said Francesca Florey, director of the Office of Global Health. “What is really commendable is that this was an entirely student-led initiative!”
The students have begun to discuss possible topics of interest for the next meeting, including immigration/transmigration, diabetes and reproductive health. The exchange of ideas from the videoconference continues through the Facebook group. The Office of Global Health at the School and the Office of Global Health at INSP supported this student exchange. For more information about the ConnectAmericas student exchange, please contact Pamela Shields.
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