Taking Care of Women in Times of Conflict, Upheaval, and Epidemics

2024 Course Overview

Information for the 2025 course is not yet available.

Global obstetrics and gynecologic health is a new and rapidly growing field. This course is designed to provide practicing obstetricians and gynecologists who are interested in global health with information and tools to addresses critical obstetrics and gynecological issues in resource poor nations. Annually, more than 300,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes, more than 200 million women have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, more than 400,000 develop new cases of cervical cancer, and 47,000 women die from unsafe abortions. The vast majority of women affected by these conditions are from limited-resource settings. Gender inequality is a major contributing factor to these disparities. We hope that through this course we can inspire and support practitioners to improve the health outcomes of women in resource-poor settings.

This course consists of a series of lectures from Harvard Faculty and guest speakers from various disciplines who work to improve global women’s health. Panel presentations and clinical workshops will also be offered to update learners on current topics. Lectures focus on relevant clinical issues that women living in limited-resource settings face. Speakers will also describe innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to providing clinical care to women in low-resource settings. Each presentation and clinical workshop will incorporate time for Q&A. 

Who Should Attend

• OB/GYN Physicians
• Specialty Physicians
• Psychologists
• Nurses
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Assistants
• Primary Care Physicians
• Family Medicine

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Analyze the fundamental issues of maternal mortality.
• Provide high quality and respectful care to women in limited-resource settings. 
• Integrate mental health into maternal health services. 
• Caring for women in times of war.
• Assess the role of OB/GYN providers in humanitarian settings. 
• Compare the impact of recent epidemics on pregnant women. 
• Consider the challenges of surgical care in limited-resource settings. 
• Analyze the ethical challenges of maternal and newborn health care and research in limited-resource settings. 
• Discuss cervical cancer prevention strategies globally. 
• Managing immigrant and refugee OB/GYN needs