International Health

About

The University of Copenhagen offers this intensive three week Summer Course in International Health targeting students and professionals with health related backgrounds. The course takes place every summer and especially addresses participants working with health provision at hospitals and health centres in developing countries.

In order to provide participants with a basic understanding of the health problems facing developing countries and the challenges these provide for their health systems, the topics of the course include:
•tropical medicine
•health promotion
•disease prevention
•sexual and reproductive health
•social and cultural aspects of health
•child health
•communicable and non-communicable diseases
•health related to water and sanitation
•and health in emergencies

Emphasis is on the biomedical and clinical aspects of the diseases facing people in developing countries. The most important diseases will be discussed in more detail with emphasis on clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment.

The conditions include diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, malnutrition, malaria and other febrile diseases, tuberculosis, filariasis, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, intestinal worms, diarrheal diseases, leprosy, mental diseases, sexual transmitted diseases, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, eye-diseases, skin-diseases and snake bites. Introductions to child health and reproductive health programs are also provided.

The socio-economic context and cultural aspects of health provision in resource poor societies and the changing disease patterns in developing countries are also discussed. The health problems relating to urbanization is examined as well as the provision of health in emergencies.

Course leader

Associate professor Christian William Wang

Target group

Master

Health professionals:

Health professionals such as medical doctors, midwives, nurses, physiotherapists etc. are welcome to apply. You must have completed an education related to health, which as a minimum should include a bachelor's degree with a duration of minimum 3 years of studies.

UCPH medical students:

Medical students from the University of Copenhagen (UCPH), who have completed the 3rd semester of their master's degree, can apply for the summer course as part of the 5th semester perspective: Internationalt perspektiv - international sundhed, which includes an 8 weeks clinical attachment at a hospital in Tanzania. It is a requirement for admission to the summer course that you participate in the clinical attachment. If you are accepted to the summer course, you are automatically registered for International Study Exposure – Health Provision in Tropical Africa.

Before the clinical attachment, you must have completed the following courses:

- Course certificate in Clinical Course in Internal Medicine
- Course certificate in Clinical Course in Surgery
- Course certificate in Clinical Course in Anaesthesia
- Course certificate in Patient Safety and Quality Development
- Course certificate in Clinical Course in Ophthalmology
- Course certificate in Clinical Course in Otorhinolaryngology
- Course certificate in Clinical Course in Dermatology and Venereology
- Course certificate in Clinical Course in Neurology and Neurosurgery
- Other medical students

Medical students from universities other than UCPH should have similar qualifications as UCPH medical students. In effect, this means that you should be about to start your final year.

Students must have an adequate level of English as all lessons, group discussions, etc. are carried out in English.

Selection process:

After the application deadline the admissions committee will go through all the applications and select the course participants, based on an assessment of who will profit the most from the course. Priority will be given to applicants with experience from working in the field, contact to or contract with a relevant institution/organization, etc.

40 places are reserved for UCPH medical students. If the number of applicants exceeds this number, participants will be selected by lottery. No letter of motivation is needed for UCPH medical students.

We strongly encourage all other applicants to put energy and care into the letter of motivation, as this is the main selection criteria.

Fee info