Authors:Christoffer H Grundmann Pages: 3 - 11 Abstract: Few people only will know that as early as the second century AD, Christ was called a physician. Not being scriptural, this nomenclature originally reflected the looming rivalry with the pagan Asclepius cult very popular in Hellenistic times. Yet despite its polemic background, that designation grew into an accepted rhetorical trope for Christians since it was regarded as well-suited to illustrate the corporeality of salvation. It implied that redemption is as corporeal as is the work of medical practitioners, an aspect crucial for Christian medical missions. This article first provides a sketch of the early occurrences of the Christus medicus trope documenting only some of the crucial texts (I). In a second part, the article addresses the imitatio Christi motif, that is, the call to imitate Christ, because imitatio Christi became somewhat typical for arguing the cause of medical missions in their nascent stage. This had to do with breath-taking developments in medicine beginning in the latter part of the nineteenth century, which suddenly empowered physicians effectively to heal diseases plaguing people from time immemorial. Pious doctors, thus, felt urged to imitate Christ by going out on missions to share the Good News and to heal (II). Concluding remarks plead for reckoning the unique vocation and ministry of medical missions within and for the Church, namely to hold fast to the corporeality of salvation. PubDate: 2018-11-08 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
Authors:Jason Paltzer Pages: 12 - 22 Abstract: Objective: The objective of this qualitative pilot study was to identify opportunities and challenges Christian public health training programs experience when it comes to equipping public health students to work within Christian health mission organizations. Methods: A sample of seven out of seventeen (41 percent response rate) Christian public health institutions from North America, Asia, and Africa completed an online survey. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify major themes in the following areas: values specific to a Christian worldview, competencies focused on integrating a Christian worldview, challenges to integrating a Christian worldview, and training available to students interested in Christian health missions. Results: Values focused on Christ-like humility in serving God and others, discipleship, respecting human dignity in the image of God, and collaborative community partnership. More than half of respondents identified the interrelationship between culture, religion, spirituality, and health as the primary competency integrating a Christian worldview. Global health was identified as a second competency followed by understanding the history and philosophy behind global health and missions. Identified challenges include faith of students and faculty, limited availability of Christian public health textbooks, and secularization of concepts such as poverty and development. Conclusion: The holistic nature of public health is conducive to integrating a Christian worldview into program content. The results show that Christian public health institutions have biblical values and integrate a Christian worldview in understanding the interrelationship between culture, religion, spirituality and health primarily through a global health lens. Programs experience significant challenges to embedding a Christian perspective into other content areas. Opportunities for integrating competencies with a Christian worldview include offering a certificate in global health/development ministry, teaching methods for engaging individuals and groups in holistic health discussions, and incorporating spiritual metrics and instruments into program evaluation courses to measure the influence of faith, hope, and discipleship alongside physical and social health metrics. PubDate: 2018-11-08 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
Authors:Eric McLaughlin, Alyssa Pfister Pages: 23 - 28 Abstract: In addition to medical ethical issues faced in every context globally, many African contexts have the challenge of additional ethical scenarios particular to African culture, resource limitation, and more varied levels of professional expertise. In an effort to equip medical trainees with the knowledge and skills to confront these situations well and from a particularly Christian vantage point, we developed a bioethics module for medical students in Burundi, which begins with a didactic ethics lecture and spends most of the time on student-led, facilitated case discussions. The cases were designed to highlight problems specifically created by the particularities of our rural, East African, under-resourced context. Five rounds of implementing this module have shown a positive and interactive reception, with students critically thinking about the problems, engaging in personal application, and being willing to disagree with each other. Evaluation after each module has resulted in some cases being discarded and others modified. Facilitation of case discussions has been especially aided by structuring cases that specifically force the making of a difficult ethical decision, soliciting an articulation of any disagreements existing within the presenting group, and exploring permutations of each case in order to see if that changes opinions and to clarify the underlying ethical principles at play. In our setting, the creation of bioethical case scenarios that are specifically applicable to the context of our East African learners has been helpful in making a module with useful content in growing the ethical decision-making capacity of the participants. PubDate: 2018-11-08 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
Authors:Kate Thomas, James Smith, J Dwight Phillips, Shari Falkenheimer Pages: 29 - 34 Abstract: Ethical issues frequently arise during the practice of clinical medicine and when providing medical education. These issues become particularly challenging when practicing and teaching medicine cross-culturally. In this case study, a structured approach to managing ethical challenges effectively was found to assist in overcoming a conflict about potentially removing a seemingly incompetent medical trainee from a residency program. The step-wise approach includes identifying relevant stakeholders; agreeing on actual background facts; understanding the various goals and values involved in the situation; reviewing locally applicable ethical, professional and legal standards; acknowledging limitations in various options to resolve the issues; and analyzing risks and benefits of the various courses of action. PubDate: 2018-11-08 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
Authors:Rebecca Houweling, Barbara Astle Pages: 35 - 42 Abstract: Global health inequities, natural disasters, and mass migration of refugees have led to an increase in volunteer humanitarian responses worldwide. While well intentioned for doing good, there is an increasing awareness of the importance for improved preparation for international volunteers involved in short-term medical missions (STMMs). This case study describes the retrospective application of Lasker’s (2016) Principles for Maximizing the Benefits for Volunteer Health Trips to international volunteers from two faith-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Canada and the United States partnering with a faith-based NGO in Nepal. These principles are intended to maximize the benefits and diminish challenges that may develop between the international volunteers and the host country staff. Lessons from this case study highlight the importance of applying such principles to foster responsible STMMs. In conclusion, there is an increasing call by host country staff for collaborative and standardized guidelines or frameworks for STMMs and other global health activities. PubDate: 2018-11-08 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
Authors:Robert Bradley Mitchell Pages: 47 - 53 Abstract: Pacific Island communities are among the most disaster prone on earth. The churches in these communities have a pervasive social role and a wide geographic footprint, and it therefore makes good sense to engage them in better preparing their communities for disasters. That said, there are a variety of pre-existing religious beliefs about disasters, some of which are antithetical to proactive disaster risk management. Important theological research is being undertaken to map existing beliefs. This research will then help inform an indigenous and systematic theology of disaster risk management. The goal is to reduce death and destruction from foreseeable events, giving the research a special relevancy. PubDate: 2018-11-08 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
Authors:Sarah Larkin Pages: 55 - 58 Abstract: A collective reflection of the spirit of the 7th Triennial Micah Global Cosultation captured in poetry PubDate: 2018-11-06 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
Authors:Indira Kurapati, Daniel W O'Neill Pages: 59 - 62 Abstract: Conference report on the 16th World Congress Meeting in Hyderabad, India PubDate: 2018-11-06 Issue No:Vol. 5, No. 3 (2018)
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