Health for All Project

Interested in diversity, equity and inclusion and wondering how to develop the curriculum to improve representation? Ever wondered why some acute coronary syndrome patients who present ‘atypically’ include women, yet women make up 51% of our population? The Health For All Empowerment Evaluation project uses Empowerment Evaluation as a validated developmental tool to support researchers with an interest in this area to develop the curriculum through evidence-based research initiatives.

The WHO constitution declares that achieving the best possible state of health is a fundamental right for every human being, but evidence shows that marginalised communities experience poorer mental and physical health outcomes. In addition to this, here in the UK, the GMC requires doctors to deliver health for all, and it is therefore crucial to prepare medical students for the diverse demographics of the population for which they will practice.

Here we support you to appreciate how discriminative forces including but not limited to colonialism, racism and heteronormativity shape the constructs of the society within which we reside and subsequently influence the medical curriculum. Stenhouse defines the curriculum as ways to deliver essential concepts whilst leaving room for constant critical development meaning the initiatives we support range from resources used for teaching and learning, all the way to addressing the learning environment itself.

We welcome all with an interest in this area regardless of research experience, and encourage you to come together with one another and develop projects that will ultimately contribute to the clinical curriculum here at the University of Cambridge. There are also opportunities to hear about various ongoing projects, and join existing groups. You will gain skills in participant recruitment, data collection and analysis and we encourage you all to write up your project for publication and presentation.

For more information, please contact ejsl2@medschl.cam.ac.uk.

STENHOUSE, L. 1975. An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development, Pearson Education.