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Frontiers in Education Research Collection Brings Global Issues to the Forefront
May 2025
“Research and Discussion in Critical Discourses and Remedies in Global Health Education," published in Frontiers in Education, is a collection of twenty articles examining global health education.
Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, co-director of the Center for Global Health Education at the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health served as the lead editor for this themed issue.
This research collection is a compilation of manuscripts that examine how global health is practiced and ask whether current strategies truly help communities build long-term solutions or simply offer temporary fixes.
Frontiers in Education is a multidisciplinary journal that highlights research-based approaches to education.
Multiple expert authors from international academic medical institutions call for transformative strategies urging a fundamental shift in how global health is taught, practiced and evaluated. Their goals are to better address issues in global health education and build collaborative solutions.
The number of articles in the collection exceeds the original goal by more than double.
The call for articles began in 2023, with the goal of providing a further examination of the history of global health education and how the field can continue to evolve toward a practice that builds local capacity. A well-known barrier to publication in many open-access journals is the publication fee. As a result, the Center for Global Health Education provides funding for any article that was accepted by the peer-review committee for authors from a low- or middle-income country with the goal to make publishing more equitable for the global health community.
“We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to lead this collection and provide a platform for global health educators to share their critiques and insights as there are no journals currently dedicated to global health education specifically. And more than anything else, eliminating the financial barrier to publication for many of our expert colleagues is critical as their voices are those that are truly representative of the field,” Doobay-Persaud said.
And more than anything else, eliminating the financial barrier to publication for many of our expert colleagues is critical as their voices are those that are truly representative of the field.”
In addition to submission successes, Frontiers in Education also highlights international collaborative achievements. More than 120 authors contributed to the articles, including those from international institutes and organizations representing a wide range of organizations such as the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREHealth), and Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER).
Doobay-Persaud leads this editorial effort with a team of global health education experts: co-editors Tracy Rabin, MD, SM (Yale University, United States), Tomlin Paul, MB BS, MPH, DFPHM, FAcadMEd (University for Global Health Equity, Rwanda), Jessica Evert, MD, (Child Family Health International, United States), Martin Adokiya, PhD (University for Development Studies, Ghana) and Benedicta Mensah, PHD, MSc, BSc (University of Ghana, Ghana).
The Frontiers in Education collection has advanced the Center for Global Health Education’s mission to teach and learn about global health, all while highlighting larger global issues such as education, historical legacies, practice nuances, unintended consequences and ethical dilemmas.
“At the Center for Global Health Education, our educators are committed to sharing these important teachings from a critical perspective,” Doobay-Persaud said.
Furthermore, they aim to “elevate the perspective of our partners.”
Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, is assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine and of Medical Education and a member of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) and Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM).
To learn more about the Center for Global Health Education, visit their website.
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