Glocalisation in health care: Thinking globally, acting locally

The Faculty of Health Sciences is committed to fostering a generation of students who will have a deep understanding and dedication to reducing health disparities through community involvement, partnership and genuine allyship.

Paul O’Byrne, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences, spoke with Sonia Anand, professor of medicine and associate vice-president of global health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University, about the concept of glocalisation and how it is transforming the more traditional approach to global health education.

Anand says glocalisation, or glocal, involves reframing how we address global health problems in our local community.

“Traditionally, we think of global health as going from high-income countries like Canada to lower-middle-income countries and solving health problems there,” explains Anand.

“We are now reimagining the training of our global health students to take their same skill set and apply it to solve local problems where there may be an intersection with global issues, such as when we welcome newcomers to Canada and some of the problems they may face.”

Anand says academic institutions have traditionally developed solutions independently and then approached communities with a predefined strategy for solving their problems. The more recent approach involves collaborating with communities to co-design solutions together.

“Do more listening, go to the community with a sense of humility, trying co-design solutions and then working together to apply those solutions,” Anand adds.

Anand highlights the SCORE! Project as a local example of a glocal research project. In collaboration with the newcomer population in the Riverdale community in Hamilton, the SCORE! team is working to co-design a multi-component intervention with a focus on physical activity, healthy eating education and nature-based aspects, in an effort to promote health and well-being.

To learn more about this community-based research project, visit the SCORE! Project website.