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DePaul professors De听Maio and Mazzeo are addressing the problem of global health inequity by giving graduate students a bigger perspective

Fernando De Maio and John Mazzeo see the problem of global health inequity from different perspectives within social science. But when it comes to the big picture, De Maio and Mazzeo agree: Not enough people are trained to work successfully on global health in international settings. That鈥檚 the gap they鈥檙e addressing at DePaul.

De Maio, an associate professor and director of the undergraduate program in sociology, looks at a population鈥檚 health as a dynamic process: As societies change and risk factors evolve, new health patterns emerge. In his research, he uses radical statistics.

CHANGE IS WHAT THE DATA ORDERED

鈥淲hen talking about global health inequities, we need two ways of knowing: theory and data. The sociologist C. Wright Mills warned us against 鈥榯he blindness of empirical data without theory and the emptiness of theory without data.鈥� If we document poor health literacy in a population, but have no theory about the cause, we鈥檇 have a relatively empty understanding of the problem. Theory frames the right questions and then helps us interpret the data. If data proves a theory wrong, we can come up with a better one.鈥�

Mazzeo, an associate professor of anthropology and director of the Master of Public Health program, studies the myths and realities of global health, especially as they reflect underlying sociocultural structures. 鈥淭he 鈥榳hat鈥� of treatment for many diseases is well known, but the 鈥榟ow鈥� varies by society,鈥� he says.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we can鈥檛 treat an outbreak of a disease in a developing nation鈥攕ay, cholera in Haiti鈥攖he same way we would in the United States, even though the treatment is simple. Here, hospitals and clinics are the mechanism for disseminating information and care; in Haiti, the reach of institutions like these is very limited. If health care isn鈥檛 informed by local realities, programs hit the wall. To effect a real change or have a real impact, a crisis response or a health care system needs to be built from the bottom up in ways that respond to cultural and social realities.鈥�

Tomorrow鈥檚 Leaders: Key TO the SOLUTIONS

鈥淪ome of our graduates will work internationally; some will work in Chicago," says Mazzeo. "But even those staying here need to know about global health inequities because diseases are not constrained by national borders, as we saw with the Ebola virus, and because Chicago has migrant and refugee populations. What is happening in the places they鈥檝e come from? The answer affects how we identify disease, treat and prevent disease, and raise awareness.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we do so well in the liberal arts and social sciences鈥攚e widen perspectives,鈥� adds De Maio. 鈥淲e are all connected. At times that connection brings out uncomfortable truths: We benefit from the sufferings of others. For example, U.S. pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials鈥攕ay for HIV drugs or cancer treatments鈥攐n populations of poor people who will never be able to afford the medicine once it comes to market. Working in global health means bringing connections like those into the open and trying to think of ways to make the world more just.鈥�

鈥淥ur students know that global health is a human rights issue,鈥� says Mazzeo. 鈥淎nd our graduates know that today鈥檚 global economic and political systems exacerbate inequities. We鈥檙e training students to take the first steps toward finding solutions to that problem.鈥� 鈻�