In March 2019, the Duke Student Global Health Review (DSGHR), a student-run organization that publishes student global health work, hosted a Roundtable event in which experienced undergraduate students and graduate students convened to discuss current challenges to ethical engagement and potential solutions to surmount these barriers. The Roundtable aimed to serve as the foundation to break down the silos between organizations and provide an open forum to share learnings. Reflections and feedback from students were used to write this position paper that outlines perceived gaps, best practices, and recommendations for improvement of global health engagement at Duke across organizations and entities.

Students who were invited to join the Roundtable represented a broad array of organizations and programs, with most students having multiple experiences in global health at Duke. All participants held leadership positions in their respective organizations or had been nominated by their fellow students as individuals who could accurately represent their groups. The Roundtable event consisted of a small group discussion of articles written by different stakeholders, followed by a structured gallery walk activity in which participants were encouraged to apply a critical lens to reflect upon their global health experiences. During these discussions, DSGHR event organizers took notes and the conclusion of the event involved a larger group discussion where individuals could provide additional insights to their responses.

Our White Paper represents a summary of the group’s findings and offers suggestions for furthering commitment to ethical global health engagement at Duke University and beyond.

Roundtable White Paper