The UW-Madison Global Health Undergraduate Programs believe that cross-cultural learning experiences enhance a student’s understanding of Global Health and how we, as human beings, are intertwined and connected to each other. However, it is important to be aware that learning from and working with groups that have a different identity or culture than our own can present ethical challenges. We strive to include courses and field experiences for students that encompass the principles of equity, mutual partnership, and social justice in relationship to the communities and cultures we work with. We also support the practice of decolonization and acknowledge that working with disempowered and vulnerable populations requires mutual respect and collaboration with host communities.

Best Practices for Students and Student Organizations

Center for Pre-Health Advising: Service Trips Abroad

Global Health Ethics Courses at UW-Madison

• Med Hist 515: Public Health Ethics
• Med Hist 558: Ethical Issues in Health Care

Additional Resources

• The Brocher Declaration: A statement of ethical principles on short-term health engagement projects
• A Guide to Being an Ethical Traveler
• UW STUDENT PAPER Addressing Ethical Quandaries in Undergraduate Student-Led Global Health Trips
• How to Evaluate a Volunteer Placement Organization
• Additional Resources from the Global Health Institute
• Community Engagement Preparation from the Morgridge Center for Public Service
• Philosophy, Global Health, and Ethics: An Attempt to Understand How We “Do” Global Health 
• Global health ethics key issues: global network of WHO collaborating centres for bioethics
• UofMN Center for Global Health and Responsibility
• Equity, Equality and Justice