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Title The peacebuilding potential of healthcare training programs.
Full text https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5t62r4gc
Date 2016
Author(s) Ratner, Kyle G; Katona, Lindsay B
Abstract Global health professionals regularly conduct healthcare trainings, such as first aid courses, in disadvantaged communities across the world. Many of these communities lack healthcare infrastructure because of war and political conflict. The authors draw on their experience conducting a first aid course in South Sudan to provide a perspective on how healthcare trainings for people with no medical background can be used to bridge ethnic, political, and religious differences. They argue that a necessary step for turning a healthcare training into a vehicle for peacebuilding is to bring people from different communities to the same physical space to learn the course material together. Importantly, simply encouraging contact between communities is unlikely to improve intergroup relations and could be detrimental if the following features are not incorporated. Buy-in from respected community leaders is essential to ensure that training participants trust that their safety during the training sessions is not at risk. Trainers should also create a supportive environment by conferring equal status and respect on all trainees. Finally, hands-on training exercises allow for positive interactions between trainees from different groups, which in turn can challenge stereotypes and facilitate cross-group friendships. These features map onto social psychological principles that have been shown to improve intergroup relations and are consistent with lessons learned from peace through health initiatives in public health and medicine. By adopting peacebuilding features, healthcare trainings can serve their primary goal of medical education and provide the added benefit of strengthening social relations.
Subject(s) First aid; Health as a bridge for peace; Healthcare training; Peacebuilding; Clinical Research; Generic health relevance; Good Health and Well Being; Peace; Justice and Strong Institutions; Public Health and Health Services
Coverage 29
Publisher eScholarship, University of California
Type of publication article
Format application/pdf
Source Conflict and health, vol 10, iss 1
Rights public
Identifier qt5t62r4gc
Repository Berkeley - University of California
Added to C-A: 2023-02-06;08:44:22