Chronic Disease in China: Health Care and Public Health Challenges

Faculty instructor: Professor Randall Stafford, Stanford Prevention Research Center
Arrival Date in Beijing, China: March 14, 2015
Departure Date from Beijing, China: April 4, 2015

The Topic

Multiple factors have led to China’s increasing non-communicable disease (NCD) burden, including population aging, globalization of dietary patterns, urbanization, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The growing prevalence of chronic conditions creates a predicament for medical care and public health systems in China. Despite its past success in infectious disease control, the country faces new challenges that strain existing systems and have spawned multiple health care reforms. The organization of health care services and public health infrastructure play a major role in China’s response to tackling NCDs such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc. Particular challenges in China include a reliance on hospital-based care, increasing health care costs, limited primary care capacity, and dual systems of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medical services. Of course there will be more for you to discover. While China’s situation is of unique magnitude, there is a growing worldwide prevalence of NCDs. Both emerging and fully developed economies may gain insights by examining China’s response to its NCD challenges.

Seminar Format

This three-week seminar will review the origins, current situation, and solutions proposed to ameliorate China’s NCD epidemic with frequent reference to analogous issues in the U.S. and worldwide. With limited enrollment (up to 16 students, up to 8 of which will be from Stanford), this interactive seminar will be organized around a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the complex interplay of economic development, lifestyle changes, chronic disease, medical care, and public health in China. Seminar activities based at the Stanford Center at Peking University in Beijing will focus on classroom lectures and discussions; guest lectures by Chinese scholars, health practitioners, and industry/government representatives; and student-selected small group projects. An emphasis is also placed on experiencing Beijing, including observing its social and built environment, and site visits to medical care and public health settings. All instruction will be in English. Stanford graduate/professional school students will be paired with Chinese students from Peking University. The seminar is a non-unit bearing course, although credit for directed research/study may be available. No prerequisites: Past experience in China, public health/medical training, or Chinese language skills are NOT required.

Eligibility

Currently enrolled Stanford University professional and graduate students are given priority. Stanford post-doctoral trainees, clinical trainees, and senior/co-term undergraduates may be considered.

Schedule

The seminar will take place March 16 to April 3, 2015 which coincides with Stanford's spring break. The 23-day program includes 15 instruction/site visit days, 4-5 free days, and 3 travel days.

Application Process

The application process is comprised of two steps. First, all candidates must submit an initial seminar-specific online application by January 3, 2015. Professor Stafford and the seminar TA will review these initial applications and invite a select number of applicants to submit a supplemental online application by January 17, 2015. (We encourage students to submit applications early since we will process them on a rolling basis with the first batch of applications being reviewed on December 4, 2014 and the second batch -including those unselected from the first batch - being reviewed on January 4, 2015.) Note that the supplemental application will also require submission of an official e-transcript which can be requested through your account in Axess - this information is needed a second time for separate program documentation purposes. More details are available on the supplemental application form. Late applications (both initial and supplemental) will not be considered.

Instructors

Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC) and Yan Min, MS, Research Assistant, SPRC Wellness Living Laboratory (WELL) Initiative.

More Information

Please contact Yan Min at yanmin@stanford.edu with Spring Seminar as email Subject.