Studying Abroad: Cape Town, South Africa Global Health Study Abroad Trip (8 pts) - (Endia Evans, Class of 2028)

This summer, I completed a transformative 2-week Global Health Study Abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa, through the Spelman Health Careers Program alongside 15 peers.  This experience expanded my understanding of healthcare through coursework, cultural immersion, research, and community engagement.

During the trip, I completed the 21st Century Global Health course, which challenged me to analyze healthcare through a global and interdisciplinary lens.  The course explored the connections among infectious diseases, mental and reproductive health, anatomy and physiology, and public health outcomes, while emphasizing the impact of social determinants of health and examining how the legacy of apartheid continues to influence healthcare disparities in South Africa.

Visits to the Retreat M.O.U.  maternity clinic, Etafeni Day Center, Nyanga Community Clinic, and a Tibb treatment center deepened my appreciation for holistic, community-centered, and preventative care. We also had the chance to immerse ourselves in a city walk of Cape Town, learn about Nelson Mandela’s work and imprisonment, traveling to Robben Island for a tour of the jail, and visit sites such as Table Mountain and Aquila Game Reserve, connecting health on an environmental scale. Immersing myself in communities such as Langa Township and learning about resilience, history, and community empowerment challenged me to think more critically about equitable healthcare on a global scale.

My trip concluded with a capstone project presentation of my research on Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus alongside my research partner, where we conducted a comparative analysis of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in South Africa and the United States, and examined differences in treatment, access to care, and personal perspectives that can influence health outcomes, along with proposed interventions to combat health inequity.  Conducting this research and sharing it with peers and faculty deepened my passion for advocating for equitable health outcomes in underserved communities and globally, and enhanced my understanding of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, a severely overlooked issue within South Africa.

This journey strengthened my passion for public health on a global scale and my commitment to becoming a globally informed, compassionate future physician dedicated to advancing health equity.