Global Health Institute

The structure of the conference consisted of multiple plenary and concurrent sessions presented over the course of three days. Each session had four to five speakers to contribute to the topic of interest. This allowed for input from professionals across various disciplines to show the entirety of the challenge at hand.

During these three days it was amazing to hear about the future of global health and the issues that need to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Being that I am a global health science student at Georgetown University, it was reassuring to learn that what is being taught in class was also of main importance at the conference. Students and professionals alike are working towards the same goal of lessening the burden of disease worldwide.

The theme of this year's conference was “Healthy People, Healthy Ecosystems: Implementation, Leadership and Sustainability in Global Health” and was focusing on the need for the global health community to be politically active and work on implementing policies instead of looking at just the ideology of science. One session that is in direct relationship with the theme, and resided with me the most, was titled “Implementation Science: The Signature Science of Global Health.” Implementation science refers to translating the research into practice. This type of science relies on relationships between scientists, decision-makers, and program implementers to ensure the transition of interventions into programs and policies. Judith N. Wasserheit, who is the chair of the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington, spoke on this topic by stating that “implementation science is the systematic, scientific approach to ask and answer questions about how to get 'what works' to people who need it with greater speed, fidelity, efficiency, quality, and relevant field.” Research is necessary to answer the “why” of diseases and pandemics, but the “how to help people” question is most important. The research would become pointless if it cannot be used to actually make a difference in people’s lives.

The desire to make an impact was broadcasted throughout the weekend during each session. Speakers who provided examples or opinions on how to make an impact are setting the stage for future advances to made in global health. This conference is beneficial to everyone involved in order to instill hope for a healthier world.

CUGH will continue to foster this hope by supporting their 145 academic institutions and organizations as a transforming force in global health.

Bernadette McMahon is a graduate student working to receive her Masters of Science in Global Health at Georgetown University.