Cross Continental Experience Blog: Adjusting to D.C.

June 25, 2019
capitol building washington dc

The Cross Continental Experience Blog by Anaëlle Séïde, CCMPH Student

The past two weeks have allowed cross continental MPH students an opportunity to get accustomed to the city. New to most of us, D.C. has been an inviting space full of fun and free activities. The prime location of NYU Washington D.C. has allowed us the opportunity to walk to many national sites and museums. In our first week in D.C., we attended Jazz in the Garden at the National Gallery of Art and Sculpture. Jazz in the garden is a D.C. summer tradition with different genres each Friday. These genres include Brazilian folk jazz, blues, reggae, jazz and go-go, and pan-Caribbean salsa. Jazz in the garden is a great way to bask in the diversity of D.C.

Photo: Students at Jazz in the Garden.
Photo: Students at Jazz in the Garden.

In the classroom, we have been diving deep into American health policy and have had meaningful discussions on the topic of health care reform, environmental health, and global health. We have had the opportunity to partake in a public health economics workshop with a health economist, Gatien de Broucker which gave us insight on cost-effectiveness as it pertains to public health interventions. Professor de Broucker split the workshop in three parts. Part one focused on key principles of economics with a focus on patient, healthcare, and societal costs. In part one, we were introduced to health economics terminology and concepts to provide a foundation for the rest of the session. Part two of the session was focused on case studies and economic studies that are used to generate estimates and guide decision making. We read a case study and identified direct, indirect, and non-healthcare care costs for a working mother with a sick child. The case study helped us put health care decision making into perspective and get a better understanding of expenses that are taken into account when discussing health care costs. Lastly, part three focused on universal health coverage and the application of concepts learned from part one and part two. The discussions during this workshop helped us recognize the many ways economic strategies can be used  to strengthen health systems. As we prepare for our semesters abroad, these classroom discussions will grant us the tools we need to make comparisons between the different healthcare frameworks we will be engaging with.