Cross-Cultural Determinants of Health Experiential Course (Tanzania) | Bachelor of Health Sciences

Important disclaimer:

The details of this course, and the application process are still being finalised. The application will be available after the info session August 14th. This summary is provided to give a little more information now, but all of the below should still be considered tentative.

Planning for this course initially began in 2018, however the pandemic forced us to postpone implementation. The course will be running in Winter 2025 for the first time, and for this first iteration, the Office of Vice Provost, Global Engagement is offering some funding to assist with the students costs of completing the experiential aspect of the course. This first iteration will involve a collaborative research component, that may or may not be in future iterations, as a way to develop the experience into the best that it can be for the future.

Students who complete this course will earn credit for HSCI 595 (3.0 units).

The coursework for the course will focus on important pre-departure training concepts and cross-cultural skills in the context of the Determinants of Health (including climate and OneHealth).

The assessments will include various reflections but will ALSO include daily and summative evaluations of the program, as well as group analysis of the data we collect.

The experiential component of the course will be a 10–14-day trip to Tanzania. During our time there, we will take part in various activities designed to help us learn about the Determinants of Health in that country. This is NOT a volunteer trip. Although there will be some opportunities for learners to share some knowledge with the community, it is purely an educational trip. For that reason, the “Activity fee”, mentioned below, includes financial contributions to the people and organisations who will be contributing to our learning.

The Global Skills Opportunity Grant that the Office of Vice Provost will be using to assist with the costs (for this year only), is geared to prioritize (not exclusively) students who identify as being members of certain Equity-Deserving Groups (such as low-income students, Indigenous students and students with disabilities), however this does not exclude those who do not identify with any of these groups.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Jenn Carpenter (carpentj@queensu.ca)

Watch the Info Session Recording

Passcode: 3m.nJU@+

Prerequisites

GLPH 271/3.0. Minimum 3rd year (level 3) standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

Application Process

The application opens on August 15th and closes on September 6th @ 11:59PM. The goals of the application are:

To identify your own goals for taking part in this course.
To allow you to identify any equity-deserving groups to which you identify.
To reflect on your own individual safety to take part, in relation to the limited medical resources and difficult terrain at times (including steep staircases to get on and off the planes, walking on very uneven ground in villages, long days, emotional experiences etc).
To acknowledge that you understand that taking part in this course will mean missing a week of classes, and therefore only those who feel confident that they will be able to work ahead, and catch up quickly, in their other courses should participate. In providing this opportunity, we need students to be vigilant in their work habits so that participation does not affect their semester of learning.

After the application closes, select applicants will be contacted to set up a short, required one-on-one meeting with Dr. Carpenter prior to be accepted into the course.

Dates of Travel

This will depend on flight costs. It will be during the February reading week plus EITHER the week before or the week after.

Approximate Costs

Total cost (some of which will be covered by the GSO funding) will include:

Queen’s tuition for the winter course
Flight and transport to airport (approximately 2000-2100 CAD)
Travel clinic and appropriate vaccinations
Travel Health Insurance
Visa to enter Tanzania (could be as high as 250 USD, but we are hoping for approval to from Immigration conduct the course with Tourist visas that are 50 USD)
Activity fee of 3500 paid to Pamoja Tunaweza Women’s Center, who will be coordinating the experience and safety on the ground. This fee includes:
- Accommodation
- Breakfast, most lunches and most dinners (occasionally students will be required to pay for these)
- Transport to and from activities and airport in Tanzania
- Payment to organisations and speakers in-country
- Contributions to Health Promotion activities of the Organisations who will be teaching us
Possible extra costs at students’ discretion:
- Safari on the weekend
- Other tourist activities in free time
- Souvenirs
- Restaurant costs, if not eating at hostel
- Etc.

Student Responsibilities for all Participants in the Course

Student participants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Students must be in good standing as defined and determined by the Canadian university to which they are registered.
The program is only open to undergraduate students.
Students must be 18 years of age or older; there is no upper age limit to participation.
Attend pre-departure training for the program (some will be in Fall semester, but most as part of the course)
Arrange for supplementary medical insurance appropriate for their GSO destination that covers the entire duration of their international experience.
Register online with the Government of Canada’s Registry of Canadians Abroad (ROCA).
Avoid travel to destinations where travel advisories issued by the Government of Canada recommend the avoidance of all travel or non-essential travel.
Obtain a valid passport, visa, medications (such as anti-malaria pills) or vaccinations, as required by the destination country.
Fully participate in the course work and discussions to ensure appropriate pre-detarture awareness and re-entry debriefing
Sign, and abide by, Code of Conduct. Remember that you are representing Queen’s and Canada on your travel.
Complete all Queen's University requirements for international travel including OCASP

GSO Funding Information

Downloadable PDF

Student Criteria:

Student participants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Students must be in good standing as defined and determined by the Canadian university to which they are registered.
The program is only open to undergraduate students.
Students can be enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis.
Students must be 18 years of age or older; there is no upper age limit to participation.
Funding categories: Indigenous students, students with a disability, Low Income, Other (Can be at the coordinator’s discretion to accept students who are not within designated categories).
Note: International students are ineligible for funding.
Experience must be academically recognized by the Canadian institution. This could be academic credit or recognized in some manner of the student’s academic transcript.
Program/project duration short term is 1-4 weeks, medium 5-16 weeks and long term as 17+ weeks.

Examples of programs: field research, internships, ug research, co-op placements. Programs need to have an international component to them whereby the student physically relocates to another country.

Funding amounts: $5,000 per student.

Funding is available for Summer 2024, Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 (program for Winter 2025 would have to be completed by March 31, 2025).

Note: This program seeks to diversify destination countries. Non-traditional countries refers to all countries other than the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.

Eligible Costs

Funding may cover direct costs related to the implementation of physical mobility programming including:

student tuition
living expenses
dependent care
health insurance
immunizations
transportation (in Canada and abroad)
accommodation during their outbound experience

Financial Note

Funding for the Global Skills Opportunity will be set to bypass enrollment and existing charges on the student fee account and be deposited directly in the student’s bank account. T4A’s will be issued to the recipients as per the standard business process for students in receipt of Awards.

Global Skills Opportunity: Participant Responsibilities

Attend pre-departure training for the program.
Arrange for supplementary medical insurance appropriate for their GSO destination that covers the entire duration of their international experience.
Register online with the Government of Canada’s Registry of Canadians Abroad (ROCA).
Avoid travel to destinations where travel advisories issued by the Government of Canada recommend the avoidance of all travel or non-essential travel.
Obtain a valid passport, visa, medications (such as anti-malaria pills) or vaccinations, as required by the destination country.
Complete the pre-departure form prior to starting their in-person experience at least two weeks before departure through Universities Canada’s *online portal. This form seeks to gather information on participants’ mobility experience details, motivations for participation and baseline skill evaluations.
Complete a post-experience report through Universities Canada’s *online portal within four weeks of completing their experience.
Participate in program evaluations which may include surveys, interviews, and case studies, among other activities.
Attend re-entry sessions.
Meet any other requirements set by Queen’s University or international partner that will host them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can this course be used towards the Global and Population Health learning track?

Yes.

Will this course count towards my option courses?

Yes, the course can be used towards your 3rd or 4th year option course requirements.

How can international students participate?

Unfortunately, this first year is being supported by a GSO grant that is only for Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents. In the future, we will be looking into how to make the course accessible to international students. For this year (2024-2025), if there you are an international student who has ways to fund the cost of the experience on your own, please reach out to Dr. Carpenter on Microsoft Teams and we can work together to investigate the Queen's requirements for international students to participate in this type of course.

Will taking this course count towards the 12.0 unit maximumum for HSCI research?

No.

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