Dr. Elbert Glover Travels to Gulf Medical University in the UAE

Recently, Dr. Elbert Glover, Chair of the Department of Public and Community Health, traveled to Gulf Medical University in the United Arab Emirates (that's the administration building below). While there, Dr. Glover helped evaluate the school's efforts to offer a Masters of Public Health degree as well as explored opportunities for collaboration between the school and those of us at Maryland.

The Healthy Turtle talked with Dr. Glover about his trip and the benefits of international collaboration:

Healthy Turtle: What was the purpose of your trip? Is the accreditation process in the UAE similar to the process in the U.S.?

Dr. Elbert Glover: The Gulf Medical University (GMU) is seeking accreditation for a masters degree in public health (MPH). I was invited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research as a 2-member team of outside reviewers to evaluate the GMU application for the MPH; moreover, knowing that I would be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), I set up other meetings in the hopes of igniting collaborative research with our new School of Public Health.

Most of the standards adopted by the UAE for the accreditation were comparable to the US standards; therefore, the process became parallel to the accreditation process conducted within U.S. schools. What made this team unusual is that the other member was from Scotland. Interestingly, I walked away thinking that the standards were more different between the U.S. and Scotland then the U.S. and the UAE.

HT: What opportunities for collaboration do you see between our university and Gulf Medical University?

Dr. Glover: Interestingly, before departure many colleagues were concerned foremost with my safety because the UAE is surrounded by Syria, Omar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. Upon my arrival all concerns were alleviated. I found UAE very safe--everyone I encountered spoke American English, all the signs and directions were in English, and I was greeted and treated very well.

That being the case, UAE has many of the same health problems that the US has; smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, diabetes, etc. Consequently, I see many potential collaborations between the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the UAE.

HT: Why do you think international collaboration is important?

Dr. Glover: International collaborations allows us to exchange ideas, view and address health issues from different perspectives, and hopefully, we could learn about each others' cultures. The usual belief is that the learning is one-sided; however, there is much that we could learn from the UAE as well.

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Dr. Glover serves as the Chair of the Department of Public & Community Health, where he is also a Professor. He also serves as Director and Founder of the Center for Health Behavior Research. Thanks to him for talking about his trip.