The Global Health Scholarship Community of Practice program takes an innovative approach to learning from nature. The program adopted guiding principles based on murmuration, a natural phenomenon in which starlings flock together and make sweeping motions in the sky. Thousands of starlings fly together without a designated leader. Each starling communicates with the seven neighboring starlings to move in unison, fostering autonomy, mastery and purpose.
These guiding principles help foster individual motivation and enthusiasm, keep the community of practice together, and navigate the group’s activities:
Healthy, smiling children playing. That is the ultimate goal of Texas Children’s Global (TCG) and Baylor College of Medicine Global.
Through these programs, Department of Pediatrics faculty, staff and trainees collaborate with local staff in nine network countries — Argentina, Botswana, Colombia, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Romania, Tanzania and Uganda — to bring health care, education and research to benefit underserved children and mothers.
“In supporting programs within the TCG Network, I work with a wide spectrum of health professionals and non-health professional staff who contribute to health care delivery at our sites,” said Diane Nguyen, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Education, Innovation and Technology at Baylor College of Medicine.
“TCG Network staff dispersed across the globe have immense collective knowledge, expertise and experience, as well as in-depth understanding of local factors and health system priorities. The knowledge and lessons learned from their experience have potential to shape clinical and public health practice and improve health outcomes of children and families globally. We are committed to helping TCG Network staff overcome barriers to publication through capacity strengthening,” said Heather Haq, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and a Clinical Lead within TCG.
Dr. Nguyen has observed firsthand the depth of staff members’ expertise and the impact of their work on their local communities. However, one of the challenges they face is disseminating their work to the broader global health world, which often requires peer-reviewed publications or scholarship for credibility.
“This challenge is not unique to the network, as there is a well-documented disparity in scholarship and published literature between authors based in low- and middle-income countries and those in high-income countries. This disparity can affect the awareness of health issues impacting low- and middle-income countries and recognition of expertise from those countries. It can affect funding and resource allocation, ultimately impacting quality of care and treatment,” she said.
To address this issue, Texas Children’s Global embraced a mission for capacity building — strengthening the skills and resources needed to thrive in the global health field. Current and former faculty, staff and trainees at Baylor and Texas Children’s together with local staff employed across the network have built a Global Health Scholarship Community of Practice.
A community of practice has three elements:
To promote practice, or professional development, the BIPAI headquarters staff began offering educational core series focused on:
The core series provided hands-on practice, culminating in preparing manuscripts for submission and peer review. The last two series were developed in collaboration with the Texas Children’s Center for Research, Innovation and Scholarship in Health Professions Education.
Success was demonstrated by a special series of articles on pediatric and adolescent health disparities related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This series featured contributions from 31 authors from 11 countries, with nine articles accepted for publication. Most of the authors were first-time contributors, highlighting the program's effectiveness in promoting scholarship and professional development.
“The Global Health Scholarship Community of Practice has fostered team building among the nine network sites, as well as with support staff in Houston. We will be able to utilize lessons learned from the successful use of a virtual platform to develop other capacity and systems-strengthening throughout the network,” said Susan Torrey, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor and Consultant for Clinical Operation, Texas Children’s Global Network.
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated another highly successful program: a virtual international symposium with over 500 participants from more than 20 countries, drawing participants from beyond the established network. Named for Research, Art, Innovation, Scholarship and Education themes, the RAISE Symposium promoted a culture of scholarly work and a holistic approach to global health through arts and wellness activities.
A team of 10 to 12 physician members of the Texas Children’s Global Health Corps, faculty and staff designed interactive activities and sessions. Twenty peer coaches supported authors in preparing scientifically sound abstracts and dynamic virtual posters and presentations. More than 90 percent of authors who received coaching reported gaining skills they could use for future submissions.
Joint presentations by authors of related abstracts encouraged network-wide collaboration. Long-term mentoring and collaborative relationships are continuing to foster a scholarship-rich culture beyond the event.
The RAISE symposium also highlighted the wellness benefits of the arts. Session speakers discussed the power of art to unleash creativity, relieve stress and cope with isolation amid the pandemic.
Virtual exhibits — of photography, sculpture, crafts, jewelry, textiles, drawings and paintings — enabled the audience to interact with artists, including patients and staff members. The artwork highlighted different cultures across the network and fostered a sense of belonging in an international community.
It also brought about a connection between some patients and a group of students in Houston. After a presentation by TCG staff and faculty about global health, a class in the Baylor College of Medicine Biotech Academy at Rusk Middle School initiated fundraising to provide art supplies for young people living with HIV at Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Malawi (Baylor Foundation Malawi).
The RAISE symposium, sponsored by the AbbVie Foundation, was a resounding success, showcasing 48 poster presentations, 31 oral presentations and 101 pieces of artwork. More than 10 hours of live programming featured the scientific abstract and art submissions.
The experience was so positive that Baylor Foundation Malawi hosted its own RAISE symposium in 2022 and 2023. TCG has adopted the peer coaching process for its annual Network Conference, while other groups within the TCG Network are replicating the community of practice model as a framework for educational initiatives.
Dr. Nguyen said, “Through the Global Health Scholarship Community of Practice program, we strive to provide the space and culture where people can continually engage with one another and grow in their professional development.”