Three CPH faculty present at international conference in Cape Town, South Africa

Three College of Public Health faculty from The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth were featured presenters at a recent international conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

Dr. Catherine Sembajwe-Reeves, Dr. Emily Spence and Dr. Kari Northeim presented workshops and poster presentations at UBUNTU 2024, a program of The Network: Towards Unity for Health, a community uniting global leaders toward global equitable health, and Rural WONCA, a repository of resources related to rural health.

The UBUNTU 2024 conference theme was "People, Place and Policy for Community Wellness."

The HSC presentations included the College of Public Health's strategic plan - IMPACT 2030: Commitment to Community - and community engagement activities, including the new Community Corps, that extends learning outside the classroom to make students' educational experiences more meaningful and impactful, and helps create healthier communities across North Texas and beyond. The team also led a workshop on successful academic-community partnership strategies and gained global perspectives on common themes.

Dr. Sembajwe-Reeves serves as MHA program director and assistant professor of health administration and health policy. Dr. Spence is CPH associate dean for community engagement and health equity and associate professor of population of community health. Dr. Northeim is an assistant professor of population and community health.

With global partners, these faculty members spent the spring and summer months participating in four UBUNTU workshops preparing for the conference. The workshops focused on interprofessional collaborations, appreciative inquiry, social accountability and transformational leadership.

"My experience at the Ubuntu Global Health Conference was incredible. I'm deeply inspired by the work that has already been accomplished and motivated by the important work that lies ahead," Northeim said.

"At the HSC College of Public Health, we are excited about building international collaborative groups focused on community-centered, socially accountable and globally relevant education."

Northeim also noted that the insights gained from the interprofessional education training sessions, particularly those emphasizing collaboration across disciplines, provided important takeaways.

[Link]Dr. Kari Northeim

"Another standout experience was the high-impact educational practices workshop, where we explored different types of intelligence and methods to boost student engagement," Northeim said. "This workshop provided practical strategies for fostering a more inclusive and interactive learning environment in the classroom."

Sembajwe-Reeves said that "attending the Ubuntu conference was an inspiring experience, highlighting our shared global goal of promoting socially accountable educational initiatives to improve community health."

[Link]Dr. Catherine Sembajwe-Reeves

"I was especially motivated by the numerous evidence-based examples of programs that have successfully fostered community-centered collaborations and utilized community input to improve curriculum quality," Sembajwe-Reeves said.

Spence also participated in a one-day conference-on-the move visit to nearby Phillipi Village with 10 other attendees. The village is a former concrete factory turned into a micro-business incubator and community center. It is located among informal settlements experiencing high poverty, infectious disease and violence. The experience offered insights into the historical context of South Africa and strategies to promote economic wellbeing, physical and social health.

"Even across the globe, communities have learned through trial and tribulation that the only pathway to health for everyone is through strong community partnerships involving those most impacted," Spence said.

The HSC team found the sharing of lived experiences among conference participants and residents of South Africa to be transformational.

[Link]Dr. Emily Spence

"I am inspired by the global educational collaborations that the HSC College of Public Health has the unique opportunity to nurture, which will enhance our efforts toward impactful and socially accountable educational practices," Sembajwe-Reeves said.

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