Fall Break in Cuba:
Community Health and Environment
This program is a hybrid online and intensive in-person undergraduate (T380) and graduate (T580) course that seeks to integrate global health concepts using a case study approach focused upon Cuba while examining the impact of culture, arts, community health, and the environment, within the context of ethics, place, and politics. As part of the goal of integrating learning across disciplinary and methodological public health domains, the course will explore the historical context and development of Cuba’s public health system, ethical considerations in global health practice, and health indicators and health systems’ challenges. The travel to Cuba will take place just prior to the official start date of the fall term and is designed for most course instruction (75%) to take place during our time abroad, with supplementary pre- and post-travel instruction and assessment (25%).
The ICA will provide opportunities to engage with Cuban culture broadly, enabling students to refine their skills and competencies for effective global health cooperation, such as respect for other cultures, leadership, systems thinking, transdisciplinary problem-solving, communication, professional integrity, ethics and diplomacy, advocacy for change, intellectual curiosity, and cultural humility.
The course will also cover various region-specific health topics, including:
- Arts for Social Justice
- Nutrition and Foodways
- Afro-Cuban Music & Culture
- Maternal and Infant Health
- Environment Health and Infectious Diseases
- Traditional Medicine
- Technology and Social Good
- Food Security
- LGBT+ and Social Acceptance
These topics demonstrate the diversity of issues that can impact global health and emphasize the importance of understanding broader Cuba’s social and ecological determinants of health.
Credit/Registration
CHP T580 / PBHL T380, Community Health, Arts and Environment in Cuba, 3 credits. All students will be registered for 3 credits as part of their fall term course load. Undergraduate students must leave space for the 3 credits in their fall term credit load or will have to pay for exceeding the 20-credit maximum.
Once you have opened an application, please contact Idris Robinson to schedule your faculty interview, which is part of the application process.
Instructors
Idris Robinson, Executive Director of Global Health, Dornsife School of Public Health
Kristal Brown, Assistant Professor, Dornsife School of Public Health
Arrival Date: September 10th
Departure Date: September 20th
Tentative Itinerary & Themes
DAY 1: Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Arrive in Cuba
Exchange Currency
Welcome Dinner
DAY 2: Thursday, September 11, 2025
Cuba and Its National Context
History, roots, and traditions
The African diaspora and sociocultural policies
Art as justice and revolutionary acts
DAY 3: Friday, September 12, 2025
Education and Health
Cuba's healthcare system
Studying medicine in Cuba
Community health promotion projects
DAY 4: Saturday, September 13, 2025
Healthy Communities
The community doctor model (Consultorio)
Primary healthcare
Community participation
DAY 5: Sunday, September 14, 2025
Healthy Aging
Physical activity throughout the life course
Afro Cuban and traditional healing practices
Integrated health approaches for rehabilitation
DAY 6: Monday, September 15, 2025
Older Adult Comprehensive Health
Community center for Seniors (casa de Abuelos)
“Circulo de Abuelos” and senior socializing
Older adult community programming
DAY 7: Tuesday, September 16, 2025
LGBTQIA+ Advocacy and Sexual Health
Sexual health and education strategies
Inclusion and access
Counteraction of stigma and violence
DAY 8: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Maternal and Infant Health
The specialized resource center
Comprehensive approaches to care
Community participation
Reproductive health strategies
DAY 9: Thursday, September 18, 2025
Health Communication
Norms and language training
Children's Theme Park “Amanecer Feliz”
Sight-impaired community integration
DAY 10: Friday, September 19, 2025
Environmental Health, Urban WASH
Melaponis bee production for healing
Castillo del Jagua Community Project
DAY 11: Saturday, September 20, 2025
Closing Activities
Departures
Due May 1st - $500 Advance Payment + $25 Application Fee
Due July 1st - $2,710 Final Payment
*All payments are non-refundable unless declined admission.
Included in Program Fee:
- Round trip international airfare from Philadelphia to Havana
- Cuban Visa
- Accommodation in private homestays
- Overnight stay in Havana
- Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily
- Entry fees to all cultural, historic, and health site visits on itinrary
- Local translator for program activities
- Airport pick up/drop off in Cuba
- Local transportation for all program activities
- On Call Emergency Assistance & Health Insurance
Not Included in Program Fee:
- Normal tuition (per credit tuition applies for graduate students)
- Passport
- Airport transfer to/from PHL airport
- Gratuities
- Additional meals and site seeing
- Non-program related excursions
- Luggage fees
- Laundry
ICA Financial Aid: Students may request an Adjusted Cost of Attendance by submitting the ICA program fee and estimated out of pocket expenses listed above to Drexel Central (via askdrexel). Doing so could make students’ eligible for additional financial aid. Students may also be eligible to apply for Drexel's
ICA Scholarships.
The Drexel University Community Health and Environment (CHE) Immersion Program in Cuba from Drexel University Global Health on Vimeo.
