From Baltimore to Berlin: Understanding Global Health

Before the Bison Stem Scholars came to Germany, we were asked to do research in groups on certain global health. I was asked to research about malnutrition, a topic I know that affects third world countries. However, when doing the research I did not understand how vital intercultural communication was in order to help this health challenge. Not everyone speaks the same language, or have the same customs or traditions, but communication throughout the world is needed in order to rid the world of this disease. Having a universal declaration of human rights is one step, but I also noticed that much more needs to be done. Being able to follow this declaration is the true testament to being able to connect culture to public health. Besides malnutrition, many other diseases are being contracted by poorer people or other people who do not have the resources to have care without any help. 

During our lecture, something also striked me: discrimination is real. I knew this already by being a African American woman, and have experienced discrimination while receiving health care, but I did not notice that health care can be challenging due to discrimination against other minorities besides race and class. In America, we have policies to make sure that most people have fair health care, however receiving discrimination while accessing health care seems to be common to not just African Americans, but other minorities as well such as foreign people, immigrants, lower class families, and disabled people. Minorities are continuously discriminated against in the health care world. These issues make the primary purpose of equal health care arduous to accomplish. We were asked in this lecture  to produce and perform a skit that entails someone trying to get care and be discriminated against. In my group, we enacted a scene where someone had a stuttering disability and the receptionist was very rude to the person. While performing and watching the other skits, I think as a cohort we realized how much discrimination impacts someone trying to get care, a right that everyone has.

Eliminating discrimination is key to having great communication internationally, but also understanding culture is key as well. During my stay here in Germany, I have seen and experienced the difference of culture from Germans. Some Germans can come off as cold, as I have had some not-so-great experiences with some Germans. This coldness could not translate well with other countries, since some countries like to be way more personable than others. I am learning to understand the German culture and I appreciate the amount of information I am learning about the people and global health since I have been here. I am a small example on what other countries should do when it interacts with different cultures, being able to learn more and appreciate the difference. Overall, being able to understand the different cultures and learning to communicate to all people can help bridge the connection between global public health and culture.