STEM Program

Well-Being for All: Global Health and Sustainable Development Research

Faculty Advisor: Former Associate Professor, Yale University School of Medicine

Program Start Time: TBD (meetings will take place for around one hour per week)

Research Program Introduction

In 2015, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) were set up by the United Nations to make the world a better and more sustainable place. They are meant to be achieved by 2030. However, several obstacles stand in the way. This program will focus on Goal 3, which ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being for all in relation to other issues such as gender, social inequality, and/or climate change.

Students can focus their research solely on India, China, or the USA. They can also make comparisons between any of these countries. They will learn the essentials of how healthcare is delivered while considering both medicine (at the individual level) and public health (at the population level). They will acquire transferable research skills like how to do a literature review and knowledge of health policy, such as how best to achieve universal health care. By participating in group discussions, students will learn from each other, from the Faculty Adviser, and from conducting research on individual projects and writing up their findings.

Final Deliverables

In the final session, students will summarize their findings and give a PowerPoint presentation to the group. Individual assessment at the end of the course will be based on the presentation plus a written paper, approximately 3000 words.

Possible Topics For Final Project

  • How does climate change impact population health?

  • What steps could a country take to ensure that healthcare delivery is sustainable in the future?

  • How much notice should governments take when setting their healthcare delivery and promotion agenda?

  • The impact of Covid-19 showed how inequality affected people’s ability to survive and cope during the pandemic. Where does sustainability fit into all of this?

  • Some countries make poor provision for women’s health. What steps could be taken to improve women’s health in these countries?

  • Which metrics can best be used for assessing sustainability in health and why?

  • What steps could a country with patchy health data records take to build a more sustainable public health sector?

  • Other professor-approved topics in this subject area that you are interested in

Program Details

  • Cohort size: 3 to 5 students

  • Duration: 12 weeks

  • Workload: Around 4 to 5 hours per week (including class and homework time)

  • Target students: 9 to 12th graders interested in medicine, health sciences, public health, and/or policy.