For students attending the course Global hälsa (7.5 ECT credits) course code 2XX066

For students that are interested in applying for Spring 2023: Please be sure that your passport is valid until December 20, 2023. If not please book an appointment at Passmyndigheten NOW since the wait times are very long.

What will I learn in this course?

The main aim of the course is for participating students to understand global health, more specifically how differences in health determinants between and within countries, as well as differences in health systems between low-, middle- and high-income countries, affect the level of health. The Coronavirus pandemic has put global health at the top of the news around the world. If you want to learn more about the course and the intended learning outcomes, please see the syllabus above.

What is global health?

The Global Health course gives an introduction to public health from a global perspective (i.e. it is not a course in tropical infectious diseases). The main focus is on how level of income and other health determinants affect the health situation in a country and of individuals. If you are interested in the broader picture, multidisciplinary subjects, and if you would like to understand what the world looks like today, then the Global Health course is for you!

How and where will I learn?

The course is divided into three sections;

1. Self-studies + writing a group assignment
2. Ca 2 weeks theoretical part with lectures, literature studies and seminars in Sweden
3. 2 week study visit to a university and healthcare services in a low- or lower middle-income country, currently Laos, Tanzania, Uganda or Vietnam. Please note that these countries may change due to the number of students on the course and pandemic situation.

VERY IMPORTANT:  All students who apply for this course need to be aware that due to the pandemic, there might be changes with short notice and a high level of flexibility might be needed. We might have to change the countries we travel to depending on the pandemic and vaccination situation. Students might be required to be vaccinated, and in worst case the trip might be canceled. If travel will not be possible, the second part of the course will be held in Sweden with virtual study visits to our partner countries, and study visits within Stockholm. N.B. The second part of the course will not be given both abroad and in Sweden, so if you apply, you need to prepare for travelling the last 2 weeks of the semester, as well as the costs associated with it.

COVID-19 and travel:

Since spring 2022 it has been possible to travel again after the pandemic. We will do our very best to make sure that travel can happen, but please make sure to keep your COVID vaccinations up-to-date.

For students that are interested in applying for Spring 2023: Please be sure that your passport is valid until December 20, 2023. If not please book an appointment at Passmyndigheten NOW since the wait times are very long.

What happens after I have been accepted to the course? 

When you have been admitted to the course, please make sure early on that you have a passport that is valid more than 6 months after the course has ended (For example: if the course ends in January, you need to have a passport valid until end July that same year.)

About a month (in January/August) after you have been accepted to the course you will receive two emails, one where you will be requested to submit your passport information and a second one where you will be requested to prioritize countries available for the study visits. It is possible to prioritize friends before country ("kompis-val"). The course leaders will try to accommodate your wishes but cannot make any guarantees as they will ultimately determine the final distribution of students to the specific countries. You will receive an email with the information on what country you will travel to. This is usually sent out a week before the introduction lecture in the beginning of the semester. Do not book your flight ticket until the course administrators has confirmed that you can do it!

Language

English is the official language of the course. This means that all assignments will be in English, both in Sweden and abroad. However, lectures in Sweden may be given in Swedish if everyone present speaks Swedish. In order to be prepared for the study visit abroad, students need to attend the lectures and seminars in Sweden. 

Can I take this course?

Global health is an interdisciplinary subject and the course accepts undergraduate students at Karolinska Institutet in the following degree programmes:

Audiology (audionom)

Medical (läkarprogrammet)

Medical laboratory scientist (biomedicinsk analytiker)

Nursing (sjuksköterska)

Occupational therapy (arbetsterapi)

Psychology (psykolog)

Radiographic technician (röntgensjuksköterska)

Speech - Language Pathology (logoped)

These programmes might change. Please check with the adminstration at your own programme to see if you can apply this year.

Students who want to participate in the Global Health course are welcome to apply through their respective programmes. Each programme director is responsible for selecting the students of their programme.

N.B. This is a very popular course and not everyone who applies is accepted to the course. If you are not highly motivated to attend all the lectures in Sweden, we recommend that you choose a different course. Also, if you have been accepted to the course, you cannot drop out of the course on short notice (due to the extra logistical burden these places especially on our partner universities in Tanzania, Uganda, Laos and Vietnam.).

If you are curious to find out what previous students thought about the course - see our evaluations!

What happens after you have been accepted to the course?

In the beginning of the semester (ca February/September) there will be an introductory lecture, where an introduction to global health will be given and the course will be explained, with a focus on the first assignment that is to be completed before the course starts.

Canvas

The course material will be made available online. To access them, you have to log in to Canvas and go to the event Global Health course. You will hand in your preparatory assignment and your examination through Canvas.

Costs

Costs are more difficult to estimate. (for example, flights might be more expensive), but as a very rough estimate based on previous years, see below:

COSTS

Flight ticket                                                     

7-12 000 kr

Daily expenses for 12 days (hotel, food etc) 

3-5 000 kr (total)

Visa                                                                   

ca 500 kr

Other (white coat, local transport, gifts)         

500 kr

FUNDING POSSIBILITIES

Travel stipend from KI                                     

3000 kr

CSN extra loan                                                 

6000 kr

TOTAL COST FOR STUDENT (roughly) 

Ca 4000-9000 kr