The professor recently sent some photos from the first week of the trip and said it is off to a great start. Students are staying at a hostel in Accra, Ghana. In an email back to campus, he said, “This week, we focused on historical and environmental impacts on health and development. We had an orientation at our hospital site. We visited Elmina Castle where former slaves were kept. It was hard to be there. We also saw Ghana’s national parks and spent the entire day with a Ghanaian family.”
During the field experience, students will also engage with caregivers to understand the living experiences of families in a low-middle income country and visit other historical and cultural sites to understand how colonialism, slavery, environmental conditions, and socioeconomic factors influence health and development.
Students are also participating in a community-based, nonprofit-related project and will visit a health facility or community clinic during their travels. Lectures will provide theoretical lenses to understand and critique issues and policies relating to health and development in Ghana.
The study abroad practicum experience is for students interested in health and social issues. The program takes a public health approach, although designed to be multi-disciplinary, with a shared purpose of improving the well-being of children and their families.
See slideshow above for more images from the group’s first week in Ghana.
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OU students on a health and cultural Study Abroad visit to Ghana, Africa – May 2022. |
