A collaborative workshop sharing global health research progress was jointly organized in December 2023 by GHRC, Duke Kunshan University, and the School of Public Health, Wuhan University. The meeting, featuring guest speakers and representatives from more than nine domestic and international universities, addressed the latest research findings and case studies in global health and envisioned the future of global health education.
The workshop was co-hosted by Prof. Yunguo Liu, Co-Director of GHRC, Kunshan Duke University, and Prof. Hao Li, Director of International Program, School of Public Health, Wuhan University.
Dr. Kathryn H. Jacobsen, Chair of the Department of Health Studies, Richmond University, presented her lecture on Five Questions Global Health Must Address by 2030. She interpreted five core values in global health research: population, action, cooperation, equity, and security. In addition, she suggested ten topics be covered in global health education, which she believed could enhance a better understanding of the complexity and multidimensionality of global health.
Two professors from Duke Kunshan University shared their recent findings relevant to population aging. Prof. Chenkai Wu explores the impact of social and built environments on healthy aging. He developed a polysocial risk score index to quantify the effect, providing an individualized intervention reference and inspiring other relevant research in healthy aging. Prof. Xiaochen Zhang gave his speech on ‘Does population aging hinder regional innovation? A perspective on complementarity and substitution effects. His research provided a fresh insight into the topic as the population aging could not be a mere negative factor for innovation. Interactions among different age groups can generate complementary effects, thereby contributing to the stimulation of innovative vitality.
Meeting participants also actively engaged in discussions, covering topics such as the definition of global health, distinguishing global health from universal health and planetary health, the career paths of global health graduates, diseases related to the elderly population, the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market, and challenges faced during foreign research processes.
A working meeting was also held to follow up with the work of the Chinese version of the fourth edition of “Introduction to Global Health”, authored by Dr. Kathryn H. Jacobsen. In concluding remarks, Prof. Yunguo Liu expressed his gratitude to all guests and participants. Once again, he emphasized the meaningful discussion in the workshop to address global health concepts and their future development.
