What the World Needs Now: Global Health Initiatives for a Sustainable Impact

RSNA has long been a proponent of global health initiatives, offering opportunities for contribution, resources, and faculty expertise to improve radiology education and patient access to care around the world. With sites in South Africa, Tanzania, Ecuador and Indonesia, for instance, RSNA Global Learning Centers (GLCs) collaborate with existing radiology departments for advancement, including establishment of fellowship programs.

“The RSNA GLCs collaborate with medical institutions in low- and middle-income countries to advance radiology worldwide. We believe in training the trainers,” says GLC team member Pradnya Mhatre, MD, assistant professor in the division of body imaging at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and global health editor for Applied Radiology.

“[In Indonesia], we’re training the faculty and exposing the way we do advanced imaging, especially abdominal, breast, and in women's imaging. I greatly appreciate RSNA’s support for GLCs and really thinking long term about how you have a sustainable impact. You do this by teaching people to teach themselves—to empower themselves,” Dr. Mhatre says.

Dave Youmans, MD, a diagnostic and interventional radiologist with a private practice background and associate editor at Applied Radiology, agrees that through organized efforts radiologists can contribute directly to improving healthcare in these countries. He also notes that there are simple efforts RSNA attendees can make at the meeting.

“Look for posters, presentations, and lectures on global health and see if they can spark and feed your curiosity and interest in making a difference,” Dr. Youmans says, adding that RAD-AID—an organization both he and Dr. Mahtre hold positions with—will have a booth with “loads of information on how you can make an impact, either actually participating with boots on the ground overseas or even from home without traveling through educating and assisting.”

“It's really a matter of keeping our antenna up and staying tuned in to things like policy and legislation, which change quickly at state and federal levels. We can be mindful of ways that our government and communities interact so that we can direct our antenna,” Dr. Youmans continues, noting influence in funding opportunities through the government, public/private partnerships, or cooperation with pharmaceutical or technology companies. 

Global health advocacy is foremost an altruistic endeavor, acknowledges Dr. Youmans, citing a moral obligation to help the millions of people who lack access to basic healthcare services. But there are also practical economic and national security reasons to invest in these initiatives. With generosity and leadership from the U.S., management of preventable diseases will reduce suffering and death as well as serve our own national interest.

Furthermore, in taking a global approach to health, the U.S. can learn from other countries. Despite the U.S. spending about $12,000 per person per year on healthcare, it is experiencing a decrease in life expectancy, says Dr. Youmans.

“You look at countries like Ethiopia, Costa Rica, or Chile, they’re spending between $50 and $300 dollars a year [on medical care], and their life expectancy is increasing and in some cases is higher than ours. We have things to learn.”

“In other countries, healthcare costs are lower, but population health has improved,” agrees Dr. Mhatre. “So engaging in global health initiatives also gives us an idea how we can come up with a sustainable, perhaps lower-cost solution because it's really our healthcare costs that are skyrocketing, in addition to our patient needs. We need to control chronic health diseases to decrease costs. I think there can be a back-and-forth learning from the places who are doing it—maybe in some ways—better than us.”

Global health initiatives offer the opportunity to exchange ideas to learn from each other’s triumphs and mistakes.

“[The U.S. has] technology, education, and so many really unbelievable opportunities, but we're lacking obviously because we’re not as effective as we’d like to be,” Dr. Youmans adds. “We have a lot to learn and the only way to learn is to engage. This is a wonderful way for all of us to take advantage of that engagement while helping folks who need it. It's a two-way street.”

With a quarter of U.S. physicians born outside the U.S.—Dr. Mhatre included—she notes the interconnectedness of our world, as well as the need to understand patients better in strengthening care.

“I trained in India…and there is always the deep desire to give back and in some way to make a difference. And I feel that I'm in a unique position because I have been part of both worlds. Global initiatives truly help us in so many different ways.”