No other place like India - or is there?

Last week we introduced a Study Abroad course being offered by the School of Public Health, and today we continuing with the second of a three part Q&A series. During this three-week course, students compare the public health conditions in India to those in the U.S. These are examples some students gave about how India and the U.S. are similar:

“Their approach is similar in that they are trying to reach as many people as possible with limited resources. Other examples would be that they struggle with some of the same individual barriers to health care that we do. Factors like lack of money, knowledge, time, and access to care are the same in the U.S. and India.”

”India funnels patients through a first line of primary care before referring to specialists at higher level health centers.”

”The India and the U.S. are very different countries, so naturally they have different ways of addressing their problems. One major similarity that I found was the discrepancies between levels of care. Though the U.S. doesn't generally have designated ‘public’ hospitals like India does, there is still a huge difference between the care that comes with the ‘Cadillac’ health insurance plans and the care that comes with Medicaid, which is what we observed in the private and public Indian hospitals. It was also interesting to see that both countries are dealing with many issues that stem from non-health related causes. For example, in India, many of their infectious disease issues stem from environmental health hazards. In the U.S.A., we can see parallels between chronic diseases and lifestyle stressors.”

”Just like in America, India focuses on immunization at the early stages of a child's life. The practice may differ in technique, but the overarching idea of ‘the sooner, the better’ still holds true for both countries.”

”India's public health system is similar in that they encounter similar lifestyle-related health problems. They are also similar in that their approach to public health incorporates the three degrees of prevention. They hold vaccination clinics, but also treat diseases that they vaccinate for. The government also partners with private organizations to track and control outbreaks and epidemics. Based on the disease trends they create programs to control and treat the disease, similar to what they do in the United States.”

To learn more about the course, check out the website. Deadline to apply for the course is Oct. 7, but it will close sooner if application spots fill before then. Contact instructor Dr. Donna Howard with questions (301-405-2520).