Community Health
This is a major field of study within the medical and clinical sciences that focuses on the maintenance, protection, and improvement of the health status of population groups and communities as opposed to the health of individual patients (Encyclopedia of Public Health). Unlike clinical care, Community health tends to focus more on identifying and promoting
Prevention of diseases and adverse health events of a community instead of targeting a single individual. Primary and tertiary prevention is key in community healthcare achievement.
The module is taught to Medical students in their 1st and 2nd year of training. Community health teaching emphasizes the ethical and human rights approach in engaging communities in assessing the burden and determinants of diseases as well as the full engagement of communities in solving health problems. It is the goal of community health to equip students with skills in assessing the community burden of diseases and health events, synthesis of information, planning, and delivery of community preventive and health promotion solutions. Also equip them with skills to address underlying socio, cultural and behavioral determinants of disease in a specified community.
You may view(link to community impact “community health”) activities done by KCMUCo students in community health
Health Promotion (HP)
This program focuses on good physical and mental health, preventing illness, being attentive to, and addressing risk factors in the social, economic, and physical environment that affect health. These risk factors may range from diet, lifestyle, relationships, workplace practices, culture, and environmental quality with the aim of improving the health conditions of the whole population by reducing the causes of ill health and premature deaths through health promotion.
The program is offered in a 3 weeks module organized for 3rd-year medical students between March and April each year. This module intends to build knowledge on HP theories, principles, models, and strategies taking into account determinants of health in a respective area. It also intends to build skills of the students in problem identification and prioritization, community needs assessment, community assessment of the burden of the identified problem, synthesis of collected information, and delivering community feedback. The module also builds skills in designing health promotion messages guided by underlying problems of a specified community and in using an appropriate communication channel for each community.
Students from other institutions are encouraged to communicate with IPH offices (email) for attachments in the program each year to acquire skills that will make them competent in addressing specific community disease burdens and creating relevant solutions.
You may view(link to community impact “health promotion”) activities done by KCMUCo students during health promotion
District Medical Officer (DMO)
The overall objectives of the course are to increase participants’ knowledge of the health system, organs playing key roles in planning, coordinating and implementing, and monitoring Tanzania’s health system, linking theories taught in class with the real-world practice in respective districts, and strengthen their capability to deal with managerial and leadership challenges of the Tanzania health system.
The program is offered in a 4 weeks module for 4th-year medical students between March and April each year including in-class learning and fieldwork. During fieldwork, students get an opportunity to practically engage in community health managerial systems at the district level, understand the direct organs of the health system, analyze the challenges and apply leadership and propose solutions for local community impact.
Students from other institutions are encouraged to communicate with the IPH office through (email) for attachments in the program each year to acquire skills to become efficient and effective leaders in building local and international health systems.
You may view(link to community impact “DMO”) activities done by KCMUCo students during DMO
Collaborations
Cornel Program
This is a students’ exchange program that allows students from Cornel University to visit Tanzania under the IPH office and collaboratively learn with Tanzanian students from KCMUCo 4th year medicine. The group works together to understand and analyze global health issues relevant to Tanzania and Kilimanjaro while proposing policies that will help solve challenges in the health systems. Some of the topics of Global health importance that have been addressed include Alcoholism Abuse in Urban Moshi, Globalization and Nutrition Transition, Cervical Cancer, and its impact on the burden of disease also HIV/AIDs, gender, and food security in Sub Saharan Africa.
You may view the experiences (link to community impact “cornel”) of KCMUCo students as they took part in the Cornel Program.