B. Rick Mayes, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science (UR) and Faculty Research Fellow, Petris Center (U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health)
Academic Year(s) Offered
2009 - 2010
Overview
This course examines what makes us sick, what keeps us healthy, and what it would take to give good health the upper hand in developing countries. Over the past 150 years, stunning breakthroughs in public health have enabled humans to live longer, healthier and more productive lives. Clean drinking water, modern sanitation and good nutrition, along with the development of highly effective vaccines and antibiotics have increased average western life expectancy by 35 years. But, the benefits of public health have yet to be extended to many of the poorest nations in the developing world. Meanwhile, in the past two decades, infectious diseases that had nearly been conquered, such as tuberculosis, have come surging back, while devastating new diseases such as AIDS, SARS and West Nile Virus have emerged. Microbial resistance to many modern drugs is rising, threatening people everywhere.
We will study how and why we already know how to prevent or treat some of the world’s deadliest diseases. In fact, enough tools currently exist to deal with 90 percent of the leading diseases and, in turn, dramatically improve the quality of life and life expectancy for children and adults around the world. Yet these diseases will continue to sicken and kill until we invest in the health of all people. Fortunately, in a business and philanthropic environment that demands results and accountability, health interventions have the added advantage of being quantifiable. And public health experts are used to testing for results and can put evaluation systems in place to demonstrate concrete progress.
As a “case study” of applied field research, the program includes a research and community service trip to Peru to study public health in urban and rural areas of developing countries.
Related Links
In the spring of 2007 Dr. Mayes agreed to meet with a group of interested students on Friday evenings to discuss health care policies and health care in the developing world. He was able to get funding to take a group of students to Peru over spring break. In the spring semester of 2008 a formal course was created and supported by the Quest Program which became the pilot for the SSIR course described above. Although the students did not live together they did have a class trip to Peru over spring break. Video clips and other information about the previous classes are below.
- “Mountaintop Experience” (UR Alumni Magazine article, Fall 2008)http://magazine.richmond.edu/fall08/feature_2/index.html
- YouTube clip of 2007 trip to Peru “Gringos en la Puna” (en Espanol)
- YouTube clip of 2008 trip to Peru “Pampas Grande”
- 2nd YouTube clip of 2008 trip to Peru “Pan Peru”
- Peruvian TV News Segment on Village that UR Students Visit “Pampas Grande II”
- Article on Arts & Science Web site
- My Spring Break In Payroo (Peru)! (link to a Spider Diary) http://spiderdiaries.richmond.edu/shannon09/2008/03/23/my-spring-break-in-payroo-peru/
- Syllabus from spring 2008 course with trip to Peru
- Health_Human_Rights_Brochure
A few more pictures …
