Public Health in the Dominican Republic
SANTIAGO de los CABALLEROS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Through a combination of site visits to hospitals, primary care clinics, NGO’s, and community outreach programs, students will gain valuable insight into the strengths and challenges of the healthcare system across both urban and rural settings. Every CIEE Faculty-Led & Custom program offers a unique combination of high-quality lectures, co-curricular activities, and immersive excursions that bring classroom learning to life through real-world experiences.
Destination
Santiago de los Caballeros is a thriving city that combines rich history, vibrant culture, and stunning natural landscapes. Santiago provides an ideal setting to study public health, offering both public and private models and real-world exposure to health policy and service delivery alongside its reputation as a prominent university hub with country’s most prestigious Health Sciences department. Immersion in this Spanish-speaking environment enhances both language proficiency and cross-cultural competence, making it a powerful backdrop for global health education.
Co-Curricular Activities
LECTURES
Public Health in Santiago, Dominican Republic program includes the following guest lectures:
- Health Systems and Development Markers in the Dominican Republic
- Rural Medicine and Herbal Traditions in the Caribbean
- Bridging the Gap: Community Health in the Batey and other Marginalized Populations
SITE VISITS
Here are just a few of the possibilities for co-curricular activities and excursions in Santiago:
- Guided tours of both public and private hospitals with local doctors, highlighting the differences between public and private care and providing context on healthcare access, quality, and delivery.
- Visits to primary care clinics and guided community walks that provide a deeper understanding of community outreach in underserved semi-urban areas, and highlight the vital role of health promoters and the impact of grassroots service work.
- Guided tour of an educational organization dedicated to integrating health, spirituality, and community development in low-income rural areas of the Dominican Republic.
- An engaging lecture at the Ministry of Health, where students gain meaningful insight into the governance of public health at the regional and national levels.
- Participation in a community-led health fair in underserved areas, where students collaborate with local leaders in health, hygiene, and wellness promotion activities.
What's Included
Every program is tailored to suit the needs of your academic goals – so every program has unique program inclusions and pricing based on your needs. In addition to the programmatic and cultural inclusions above, a standard CIEE custom program includes on-site orientation, 24/7 emergency support, in-country transportation, accommodations, some meals, classroom space, comprehensive insurance coverage and logistical support from our on-site CIEE staff. We also offer marketing templates and other valuable tools to help you get the word out to students.
Health, Safety, & Security
CIEE has over seven decades of experience creating engaging and reliable study abroad programs around the world, with an excellent safety record. Each of our sites is regularly assessed using international risk management standards and data to facilitate successful programs. In addition, our custom and faculty-led programs include pre-departure and on-site orientations, iNext travel insurance, the support of trained CIEE staff members on-site, and 24/7 emergency support in-country. Learn more at ciee.org/safety.