Global Health Education in UK Medical Schools (GHEMS) study protocol

Abstract

Background Global health is the study, research, and practice of medicine focused on improving health and achieving health equity for all persons worldwide. Such focuses are core tenets of modern medical practice. The General Medical Council (GMC) have published several documents that outline specific global health learning outcomes and competencies that are essential, non-elective components of UK medical school curricula. However, there is a paucity of evidence demonstrating that medical schools have integrated these mandatory global health learning outcomes within their curricula. This multicentre study aims to delineate the breadth of global health teaching during undergraduate and graduate entry medical training across UK medical schools. Methods This national, multi-centre study will involve obtaining timetables containing details of all medical teaching provided at undergraduate and/or graduate entry level at UK medical schools for the academic year 2018/2019. Collaborators at each centre will independently code all timetabled global health learning events (compulsory, optional, or pre-elective), conforming to a pre-devised standard framework that will enable description of teaching events in terms of course year, duration, teaching format, and teaching content. The quantitative and qualitative data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively. Krippendorff’s alpha coefficient will also be utilised to measure the level of agreement between datasets collected independently by different collaborators at the same centre. Results This study will define, for the first time, the nature and characteristics of global health education within UK medical school curricula. It will capture any differences in the amount of teaching provided on various global health learning outcomes between medical schools. Conclusions If this study depicts national discrepancies in teaching, it will place the onus on medical schools and the GMC to provide standardised and adequate global health education within the undergraduate and graduate entry medical curriculum. To aid medical schools in achieving this, the study will also identify currently scheduled teaching events at each medical school that could incorporate material related to the mandatory global health learning outcomes.