This virtual gallery represents a selected sample of outstanding student projects completed in the Spring of 2024 as part of Professor Sue J. Goldie’s undergraduate course, Gen Ed 1063: World Health: Challenges and Opportunities.
The course, held as a part of the Harvard College Program in General Education, examines the extraordinary changes in the world that present both risks and opportunities to health—unprecedented interconnections across borders, rapidly shifting global demographics, and changing patterns of diseases and injuries. The course emphasizes interdisciplinary thinking, encourages active student engagement, and utilizes projects—rather than exams—structured to link classroom concepts to contemporary events.
This page was curated by the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University. GHELI inspires and supports innovative learning, teaching, and dialogue about cutting-edge, multidisciplinary global challenges. We foster and evaluate new pedagogical tools and instructional strategies that bridge disciplinary fields, educational spaces, and groups of learners. Through the deliberative design of inclusive learning spaces—to gather, to collaborate, to spark unexpected discussions—the Incubator encourages transformative thinking across disciplines while breaking down conceptual and geographic boundaries.
At the start of the course students were told:
This course has no prerequisites aside from an open mind, curiosity about alternative perspectives, a willingness to self-reflect, and a commitment to be present and engage – with the issues we will discuss, the products you will make, and the learning community we will create. The concepts and issues you will encounter in this class are relevant to the most salient societal challenges you will confront beyond your college years. The skills you will develop – from data literacy and quantitative reasoning to critical thinking and interdisciplinary analysis – will prepare you for problem solving in a globalized context.
For their final assignment, students were asked to systematically analyze a societal health challenge that they were passionate about and to create a “problem-inspired” product intended to influence policy, motivate action, and inspire real-world change. While the analytic component assessed critical thinking skills, the “call to action” component encouraged students to step beyond their comfort zone, think outside the box, and take risks.
Students were given the choice to create an extended policy brief or a multimedia campaign. In a creative and inspiring format, a multimedia campaign should raise awareness and draw attention to public health issues at the community and population level. Students who chose this format were asked to choose a specific target audience to focus the campaign's motivation to change the thinking or behavior of those individuals. Effective campaigns had the traits of being specific (what was the precise problem being addressed), measurable (what was the desired outcome and how could the solution be measured to quantify change), achievable (was it actually feasible for the target audience to change their behavior given the context), and relevant (did student goals align with the audiences' tangible goals).
Student projects represented a breadth of issues across the global health landscape, from mental health in adolescents, the opioid crisis and homelessness in the U.S., HIV in Mexico, second-hand smoke in China, tuberculosis in Kenya, to menstrual hygiene access in Punjab. The diversity reflected in their creative choices was remarkable—students created policy analyses, multimedia videos, Instagram reels, educational podcasts, campaigns for social change, original artwork, micro websites, short stories, illustrated children's books, and even a Jeopardy game. The seventeen student projects in this gallery were selected for their exceptional, inspired qualities, creative thinking, and analytic clarity.
Addressing Teenage Anxiety in the United States
Video by Hala Ajjawi
Artist Statement: Anxiety is one of the growing mental health challenges in the United States. It involves a persistent state of worry and nervousness that can worsen over time, often interfering with daily life. Approximately 31.9% of adolescents in the United States, aged 13-18, have been diagnosed with some form of anxiety disorder, with a higher prevalence among females (38%) compared to males (26.1%). Anxiety in adolescence is often overlooked, but it is a serious problem that can manifest in various anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and others. Adolescents with anxiety may display behavioral signs like isolation, withdrawal, school refusal, and substance use, or physical symptoms like fatigue, headaches, insomnia, and muscle tension. Despite anxiety being a serious issue among adolescents in the United States, almost 80% of teens with a diagnosable anxiety disorder do not receive treatment for it. Raising awareness is a key approach to addressing adolescent anxiety. This project aims to reach children and parents with a lighthearted, quick video to inform them about anxiety and ways to cope.
Anxiety is a serious issue that many people experience during adolescence, especially in the United States. I have struggled with anxiety myself, as have many of my peers, so I understand how challenging it can be, especially for those who are afraid to share their experiences. My multimedia product is a video designed to raise awareness about this problem, educate teens and their families about common signs and triggers, and offer practical strategies for managing anxiety. I decided to create a short, visually appealing video in a format similar to those on TikTok or YouTube Reels. This video could be shared on these platforms because many teenagers today use social media like TikTok and often follow its trends, making this format likely to resonate with them.
The design choices, such as fast-paced transitions and concise, impactful messaging, are intended to keep the viewer engaged and encourage them to share the content with others. The mood of the video is complemented by chill, uplifting music, as I aim to inspire a change in behavior by encouraging open conversations about mental health, reducing stigma around seeking help, and providing practical tools for managing anxiety. To provide additional support, I included a hotline number at the end of the video for children to call if they need immediate help. This resource can be a crucial lifeline for those struggling with anxiety and in need of professional assistance. Ultimately, my goal is to create a resource that is both informative and empowering, designed for this generation, and that promotes positive mental health practices among teens.
Road Traffic Injuries and Mortality in Young Men in the Dominican Republic
Video by Kathrin Auwarter
Artist Statement: Road injuries and deaths are a growing health concern in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In just a decade, the road traffic fatality rate grew 20%, from 14.75 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 17.68 deaths per 100,000 in 2010. Unfortunately, deaths due to road injuries have remained dangerously high in the region at 18.19 deaths per 100,000 in 2019, for women and men of all ages, a statistic much higher than 12.61 deaths per 100,000 in the United States for the same demographics. Among nations in LAC with the highest incidence of road injuries, one particularly stands out: the Dominican Republic. In 2019, the country had 24.52 deaths per 100,000 women and men of all ages caused by road injuries. The data becomes especially grim when we disaggregate road mortality based on gender. While women between 15-49 years suffered 7.08 deaths per 100,000 caused by road injuries, men of the same age suffered 52.58 deaths per 100,000 in 2019. Alcohol intake while driving is also an especially big problem in the country, and it is estimated that alcohol consumption was responsible for almost 44% of road injuries between 1985 and 2011. This video aims to reduce road traffic mortality in the Dominican Republic by educating people, especially young men, to change behaviors around drinking and driving.
Since I was young, I have often heard my family say “Él que maneja en la República Dominicana, maneja donde sea [Whoever can drive in the Dominican Republic can drive anywhere].” Whenever I visit my birth country, the Dominican Republic, those words come to life as I hear the loud mix of honks and music on the city streets, alongside the frustrated complaints of my family members about reckless drivers and “motoritas [motorcyclists].” My observations and experiences, combined with stories from friends affected by road accidents, inspired me to focus on the problem of road traffic mortality in the Dominican Republic. After looking through the GBD Compare, I was shocked to see that the Dominican Republic ranks very high in mortality caused by road injuries, especially among men. Therefore, for my final project, I created an emotional video focusing on raising awareness about this critical issue among young Dominican males (15-49 years old). My secondary audience is family and friends, who I hope would also watch the video and keep their family members accountable.
Video campaigns are especially powerful tools for transmitting a clear message and evoking strong emotions and thoughts in the audience. This is especially important for younger generations like my target audience because they are used to receiving visual, quick, and impactful information on social media and the internet. Within the category of road traffic accidents, I chose the issue of drunk driving because research shows that alcohol consumption while driving is a significant cause of road mortality in the Dominican Republic. Throughout the video, I directly address the young man, including a club scene with a popular bachata song and the reference to baseball as one of his dreams. I included these elements to make the story relatable and allow my audience to see a reflection of themselves in this fictional character. I also want the video to be memorable, which is why I decided to use visuals and loud sound effects to inspire suspense, fear, and shock and thereby influence my audience to change their behavior.
Opioid Use in San Francisco, California
Painting by Olivia Cooper
Artist Statement: The opioid epidemic has hit urban centers hard, particularly my native San Francisco. Drug use disorders have risen to the third leading cause of DALYs in 2019, and the 15th cause of death in 2019 in California. On average, there are 76.3 overdose-related 911 calls per week, with a total of 2305 in the last 30 weeks—this is also likely an underestimation, as many overdoses are responded to by community members who may not call 911 for help. From March 2023 to March 2024, there were 805 unintentional drug overdoses in the city of San Francisco, with an average of 67 per month—this is a rise from 635 confirmed unintentional fatal drug overdoses in 2022. This painting aims to address the opioid crisis in San Francisco with empathy and inspire policymakers to offer more support and resources to those struggling with opioid addiction.
As a native San Franciscan, I’ve seen up close and personal the impact of the opioid crisis on my community. From an early age, I interacted with drug users daily on the bus, on my walk to the post office, and through early education programs through my school. The opioid crisis has hit San Francisco extremely hard, particularly among the unhoused populations. But the opioid crisis can impact anyone, regardless of education, socioeconomic status, race, or creed. Thus, my painting shows a city street in San Francisco that looks, at a first glance, quite normal. But, the eye is quickly drawn to the massive pills that are abducting people from the streets. The largest pill is labeled with OxyContin, the drug most responsible for the beginning of the opioid crisis. Within the pill-spaceships, the viewer can see hands pressed to the glass, some even in prayer, as those trapped within beg for help to escape. I chose to present drug use in this way because oftentimes addiction can impact people almost randomly—after having a back surgery, a man is prescribed OxyContin and becomes dependent on it for pain management or a woman takes Fentanyl intending to consume a different drug at a party with friends. As a child, my perspective on addiction really changed when I realized that addiction can affect anyone and everyone. Within the painting, many of the colors on the street are drab, and not far outside of the range of normal life, but the colors of the pills are big, bold, exciting pinks and greens and oranges. This symbolizes the allure of the drugs, and the excitement that users first have when they try them.
The painting is designed to be shown to policymakers, parents, or anyone in charge of introducing the idea of addiction to young people for the first time, to show how addiction can sneak up on someone. Empathy is so important when it comes to solving a problem like addiction, and so many policy makers in San Francisco have left those struggling with addiction with little support or resources. I hope that policymakers, armed with greater empathy to those struggling with addiction, could offer better support for those struggling with addiction, more funding to allow the Department of Public Health to be more useful, with halfway houses in safe neighborhoods, more numerous treatment centers, better education for young people about addiction, and thorough distribution of Narcan. I chose to paint for my medium because I enjoy it, but also because I thought I could get the most vibrant colors for the pills that way. The paint dried very quickly, and it was difficult to always get the perfect color match, but the meticulous work gave me lots of time to think about my motivations for this project and how I can help my community when I move back to San Francisco post-graduation.
Gun Violence Targeting Black Men in the U.S.
Instagram Reel by Ayah Hamed
Artist Statement: Gun violence is a severe health issue in the United States, drastically contributing to premature death. Statistics show that 42,967 individuals passed away from gun-related injuries in 2023. Gun-related deaths have risen approximately by 43% between 2010 and 2020. Among the gun violence-related deaths, 35.26% are composed of homicide cases (NIHCM, 2024). When looking at the victims of these cases, it is apparent that Black men are disproportionately being impacted by this health issue—homicide is the number one cause of death for Black, non-Hispanic, males aged 1-44 in the United States. The primary goal of this product and message is to inspire action against gun violence targeting Black men.
Homicide is the number one cause of death for Black men aged 1-44 years. Time and time again in history, we see innocent Black men being brutally killed by police brutality and policies that are implemented against people of color, such as Stand Your Ground. My targeted audience is the general civil society, and I hope to garner awareness of abolishing policies that ultimately harm our Black male community. I hope this media project will encourage citizens to call their policymakers and advocate for better gun policies. I specifically chose to present my media project as art visuals in the form of an Instagram reel because I knew I wanted a visual representation of the issue to evoke emotion. I also wanted to show the victims of gun violence because they are humans just like us, not just statistics. Moreover, I believe social media can reach many various audiences and communities and is very accessible compared to a book or pamphlet. In my media project, I also incorporated a lot of questions throughout the post because I wanted viewers to think about the issue and not just passively scroll.
Protect Your Kids From HIV
Microsite by Georgia Hutchinson
Artist Statement: HIV is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, with 1.3 million people contracting HIV every year and 629,000 people dying of the disease. HIV is both preventable and treatable, and governments and nonprofits have taken significant strides to reduce the HIV burden in sub-Saharan Africa and other high burden countries, while many predominantly Muslim countries in North Africa, such as Egypt, have received fewer resources to reduce HIV infections due to their comparatively lower disease burden. As a result, the North African region has seen increasing rates of HIV despite decreasing global trends and has some of the lowest testing and treatment rates and highest transmission percentages in the world. I’ve been interested in the experiences of children with HIV since reading a book in middle school that featured an HIV positive protagonist, and I was shocked to find out that Egypt’s mother to child transmission rate was over 30 times higher than it would be with universal implementation of standard treatment. As someone with no medical training and a limited understanding of the medical side of HIV, I wanted to learn more about the non-health factors behind Egypt’s high maternal-to-child transmission rate and explore potential roles for education and information campaigns in improving access to treatment.
I chose a microsite as my media project to compile country-specific educational material about HIV in a confidential and easily accessible manner. Due to my positionality as an outsider who doesn’t speak Arabic and is unfamiliar with many of the religions and customs in Egypt, I wanted to approach the project with cultural sensitivity by centering the voices of Egyptians and amplifying the work of local organizations. I decided to design the site for an audience of pregnant mothers since other African countries have achieved considerable success in lowering HIV burden through addressing mother-to-child transmission, with the majority of South Africa’s case reduction being attributable to their mother-to-child transmission initiatives. Since I am an outsider, the goal of my website is not to convince the audience to share my opinion about HIV, but rather to connect the audience with resources and provide them with the necessary information to make informed choices about their and their children’s health. This is especially important given that only 6% of Egyptian women have correct and comprehensive knowledge about HIV. My website uses red accents, the color of the HIV movement, which I balanced with neutral colors in order to make the site feel approachable. Due to the significant presence of HIV stigma in Egypt, I chose to anonymize all stories (keeping with both UNICEF and local media’s customs), so my site mostly uses both graphics and visual art. A potential next step would be to email this site to an Egyptian organization that currently lacks a website and see if they would want to take ownership or adopt aspects of its design in order to further their mission.
Extreme Heat and Environmental Justice in Massachusetts
Podcast by Osasenaga Idahor
Artist Statement: According to climate change models cited by the state’s department of environmental protection, by 2080 Massachusetts is projected to hit an average of 17-52 days every year where the thermostat will read a number above 90 degrees. Some populations are less prepared than others to face the future challenges of climate change and need aid to adapt and deal with the present and future effects of climate change. Among these vulnerable populations are environmental justice populations, which are distinguished by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection as predominantly low-income, non-English speaking for their primary language, or people of color. Although Massachusetts has demonstrated political support for addressing the climate adaptation concerns of environmental justice populations, the number of environmental justice populations statewide is growing. This podcast aims to address environmental policymakers in Massachusetts and illuminate how existing environmental justice initiatives are not as effective as they could be for these vulnerable communities.
I am passionate about addressing health consequences of environmental justice because I grew up in Hyde Park, Boston, a neighborhood that has had hazardous chemicals polluting the nearby community for decades. Since being honored this past November with my role on the Environmental Protection Agency’s inaugural National Environmental Youth Advisory Council, I have been determined to use my platform to boost individual intervention and community-wide policy ideas for local community resilience. I am the host, editor, and producer of a podcast, “The Climate Doctor (no MD),” which I have hosted for two years now, and I wanted to make another podcast because I have had success using the medium to communicate to both policymakers, academics, and even lay people in environmental justice populations like Hyde Park the intersection of climate and health.
The intended target audience of the podcast episode I have produced is for relevant Massachusetts environmental policymakers. This audience includes organizations like the Boston’s Mayor Office, the Environmental Protection Agency Region 1, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and generally, Massachusetts cities with a progressive environmental justice perspective. Many of these organizations are committed to environmental justice in their organizational climate action frameworks, but the impact of the stated commitment needs improvement in my opinion. I believe that effective initiatives not only address the environmental health concerns of environmental justice populations, which manifest as downstream intermediary determinants of health, but also the structural determinants of health that have oppressed these communities for decades. Since my audience was for policymakers, this podcast episode tone was slightly more serious, and my final call to action more policy-focused than what I normally do on my podcast. Because I am talking explicitly to policymakers, I also wanted to drive the point home early that these organizations have good intentions, but ultimately that the impact on these environmental justice populations is wanting. I used several statistical data and cited academic studies to collaborate my opinions, because statistics are most effective in convincing policymakers rather than stories or narratives.
Celebrate BLACK BEAUTY: Addressing Increased Mental Health Issues and Suicide in the Black Female Youth of America
Video by Megha Jackson
Artist Statement: Self-perception determines a significant portion of one’s personal well-being and happiness and should therefore be fortified by the self and their environment. The reality is, however, the way one sees oneself is extremely vulnerable to exterior judgment and criticism. A large portion of women today face judgment directed towards their physical appearance and report negative consequences. Approximately 10% of women have deliberately hurt themselves because of their body image and 13% of adults admit to having experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of their body image. Deep-rooted biases, such as racism, ingrained in our collective societal mind present increased risks for detrimental consequences in the mental health of minority groups who do not uphold the Eurocentric American beauty standard. Features “more akin to the African esthetic” are deemed “ugly, undesirable and less feminine,” which weighs a heavy toll on the self-perception of Black women in America. As a direct or indirect result, suicide in Black female youth has been rapidly increasing. This video aims to call out the Eurocentric beauty standards that harm Black girls’ mental health and show Black girls that they can support and love one another.
Countless young Black girls have suffered mental health issues in silence—either because we are scared to admit weakness in a society that demands our resilience, or because we have upheld a strong facade for so long that we are unaware of our weakening mental state. I believe I experienced a depressive episode in my life that lasted about eight months, during which not even my most beloved family members could make me happy, and I was unwilling to be vulnerable with them out of fear of judgment and fear of having failed my family. During that time, I was uncomfortable in my own skin. My friends shared similar stories. This was during the pandemic, where children and teenagers spent hours scrolling on social media, seeing girls who upheld a narrow beauty standard many of us were nowhere near meeting. My mom one day played me “Brown Skin Girl” by Beyonce, and the lyrics have stuck in my mind since. Beyonce celebrates Black Beauty in her song and reminds us that our “skin glows like diamonds.” I believe that every Black girl should hear this message at least once in their life—a message that reminds them of their intrinsic, Black, beauty. For these reasons, I made a video PSA that would target Black women predominantly in their teenage years, but also uplift adolescents and adults. The main goal of the video is to call out the ‘invisible’ crisis that the United States faces: Black girls are suffering from mental illness and committing suicide more than any other ethnic group, yet they receive the least help. This video is a call out to society. We must do better. But more than anything, this video is meant to show the Black female community that they are not alone. That they are beautiful and loved.
I decided to format the video in a dramatic way that would capture the audience's attention and highlight the severity of the issue. I used dark backgrounds to convey the dark mood in the beginning. For the same reason, I used a melancholic melody that would trigger the audience's emotions. I decided to start with the crowning of the 1972 Ms. USA winner to expose how long Eurocentric beauty standards have plagued the United States. I then continued with a collage of Ms. USA and Miss America winners, all of which upheld the American beauty standards. I decided to then use a dramatic tone by asking “But at What Cost?” I decided to flash family interviews and photos of Black girls who took their life mixed in with statistics that would capture the audience. Unfortunately, the software I used would not let me change the text color of single words to draw attention to specific portions of quotes, so instead, I opted to make the slides that say “Life. After Life.” all red to stroke the audience. Finally, I decided to shift the tone to a happy, uplifting tone to show Black girls that despite our reality, we can support and love one another. The incorporation of beautiful Black faces, friendly voices giving positive affirmations, and Beyonce’s song in the background are all intended to relate to the Black female audience and exude love. I hope by watching this video young Black women feel my love and are inspired to spread their love within the community.
Artist Statement: In the United States, the conversation about the dangers of tobacco usage has shifted to a sole focus on e-cigarettes, even though cigarette smoking critically remains the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Growing up, my mother addictively smoked cigarettes, making me never interested in smoking. My impression of smoking has always been negative; however, this is not the case for most other individuals who grow up in communities where either smoking cigarettes is the norm or not present at all. Adolescents with the lowest perceptions of long-term smoking-related risks are over three times more likely to start smoking than adolescents with the highest perceptions of risk. The CDC estimates that 80% of all adult smokers begin smoking before they are 20 years old, and the majority of adolescents report that they were with friends when they smoked their first cigarette. This collection, which consists of a series of posters and set of graphics designed for Instagram, aims to inform people, especially young people, about the dangers of smoking and encourage a change in behavior related to tobacco usage.
From the chain-smoking depicted in popular media like Sex and the City’s And Just Like That and The Idol to motifs in the world of beauty like the Tik-Tok viral Lana Del Rey-inspired packs of lipstick meant to mimic cigarettes, cigarette smoking is being romanticized in youth-accessible pop culture. I find my peers frequently noting how they enjoy smoking cigarettes “for the aesthetic.”
My project, which consists of a series of graphically captivating posters designed for schools and predominantly youth spaces, in addition to an Instagram account that features posts about cigarette smoking and the role that quitting can play in saving a life, are mass-reach health communication interventions that aspire to reach a vast audience to change knowledge and behaviors relating to tobacco usage. Given current generations’ propensity to learn information through the internet, I chose a social media page as my media product to easily highlight facts and information in a digestible format. Since youth are fixated on the “aesthetic” nature of cigarette smoking, I evoked a similar visual appearance in my project, focusing on aesthetic graphics, in addition to aggressive slogans and symbols in addition to bold colors, layouts, and text. In creating this project, my hope is to communicate to youth the life-threatening, long-term repercussions of cigarette smoking to enact culture-based change and policy development and implementation.
Access to Menstrual Hygiene & Period Poverty in Rural Punjab
Instagram Posts by Simran Kaur
Artist Statement: Lack of resources for healthy and safe menstruation is a significant issue in rural Punjab (a region that spans territories in both India and Pakistan). Period poverty is a direct result of root causes, including social stigma, low socioeconomic status, and lack of facilities to wash when menstruating. Over 38% of all menstruating women and girls in rural Punjab, India, do not have access to safe, clean menstrual products and resort to using cotton, cloth, leaves, ashes, or other unsafe and unhygienic materials. Furthermore, at least 1 in 5 Punjabi Pakistani schoolgirls miss several days of schooling per month due to a lack of a sufficient cleaning facility on site when they are menstruating, and up to 80% of girls in select rural villages drop out of school at menarche. In addition, a lack of adequate menstrual hygiene, which includes bathing daily when menstruating, using sanitary menstrual products, and having regular access to a wash facility, can result in serious health issues. These include urinary tract infections, reproductive tract infections, and other related health issues.
This extended Instagram post is intended for the audience of menstruating people in rural Punjab, as well as the general public. Members of the general public can donate and support non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are advocating and actively working towards ending poor menstrual hygiene and period poverty in Punjab. Since most Punjabi people have access to social media, by viewing this Instagram post, audiences can educate themselves on the issue of poor menstrual hygiene, learn more about their bodies and menstrual health, as well as support organizations that are working against this issue. The extended Instagram post introduces a highly complex issue in a digestible format consisting of visual aids balanced with shorter sections of text. The format is also easily accessible through various social media platforms. The goal of this post is to primarily educate the audiences while generating a call to action, specifically to mitigate social stigma by means of greater understanding and education surrounding the topic of menstrual hygiene.
Black is Beautiful: Learning To Embrace Our Natural Skin Colors and Fighting Skin Bleaching in Jamaica
Microsite and Illustrations by Chloe McKain
Artist Statement: For my final project, I knew that I wanted to focus on a health problem in Jamaica, the country where my parents and family came from, initially choosing to research acral lentiginous melanoma. However, while researching acral lentiginous melanoma, I kept stumbling across sources focused on another skin related issue in Jamaica, skin bleaching. While the exact number of skin bleachers is difficult to find due to the number of over the counter and homemade skin lightening products used in Jamaica, it is estimated that somewhere between 10-15% of Jamaican dermatologist patients bleach their skin. This is a problem since skin bleaching products often contain steroids and higher levels of mercury which yield side effects ranging from steroid acne to mercury poisoning. Users of skin bleach are at higher risk of mercury exposure which leads to several other health problems like brain and liver damage. This fact becomes even more alarming when it is considered that skin bleach users are more likely to be darker skinned individuals who already face several social inequities in Jamaica. This microsite aims to educate about the dangers of skin bleaching and encourage Jamaican women to stop bleaching.
I decided to create a microsite called “Black is Beautiful” to encourage younger Jamaican women (most Jamaican skin bleacher users are women in their 20s and 30s) to stop bleaching. I chose to make a microsite since it would be able to easily reach a large portion of the population, and it does a good job of engaging viewers and directing them to more information via links. I knew when creating my microsite, however, that I couldn’t simply highlight the negative effects of skin bleaching. Instead, I had to focus on raising awareness of colorism in Jamaica to address the root, psychological cause behind the dangerous practice. In my microsite, I include historical explanations of colorism in the Jamaican context, a link to a New York Times article about Jamaican singer Spice’s anti-skin bleaching song, and illustrations I made to help connect to my audience of Jamaican women. In particular, my illustration of a dark-skinned woman smiling which I show at the top and end of the microsite serves to show the beauty and joy in embracing natural skin. My illustration of the three little girls wearing the typical style of Jamaican school uniforms serves as a reminder that skin bleaching perpetuates cycles of colorism which are passed down to younger generations. I also include two infographics. One demonstrates the negative effects of skin bleaching, and the other, which I borrowed from the World Health Organization, shows the effects of mercury exposure to show the “ugly” side of skin bleaching, as most Jamaican women bleach their skin for aesthetic reasons.
“¡No Estas Solo!”
Digital Art by Jose Quiroz-Yanez
Artist Statement: This project focuses on the problem of HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Mexico. Although HIV prevalence in Mexico is relatively low for a developing country at 0.3%, the prevalence among MSM is 17%, disproportionately higher than that of the general population. As noted by a study on HIV risk for MSM in low- and middle-income countries, “MSM in many developing countries are often difficult to access and to study because of criminalization of their behavior, the social stigma associated with their behaviors and identities, participant safety concerns in some settings, and low levels of self-identification among MSM.” This artwork aims to raise awareness for a population that is marginalized and oftentimes unaware of the importance of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV.
HIV prevention is funded and studied most at the global level, but when it comes to specific subsets of populations living in specific regions or countries, especially developing ones, resources are not widely available. Initially, I thought this meant I should choose to focus on another population or health problem that might have more data available, but given that the goal of the project is to “motivate a change in thinking or behavior, or to serve as a call to action,” I thought this provided an even bigger reason to focus on HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Mexico—precisely because there is not a lot of data or resources that can tell us more about the needs of this population.
My digital art piece is meant to serve as a call to action for MSM who are unaware of their HIV status and/or are unsure of where they can find resources for testing/diagnosis, treatment, and prevention measures. I chose this medium because creative visuals are not always used in the field of global health. If this piece were to be displayed publicly or online, it would be an effective attention-grabbing and thought-provoking medium. The red ribbon woven throughout the art piece is “the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV.” In the top left, I turned the Red Ribbon symbol into a chain that is breaking to visualize the message that is written (in Spanish) throughout the first part of the ribbon: although MSM may feel alone, they are not; 60% of MSM are unaware of their status and are at higher risk of being infected. In other words, the chain is not connected because not 100% of MSM are aware of their status, but this can change. A man wearing a purple shirt is pictured in the bottom left sitting on the ribbon uncertain about what to do with that information, but there are other men behind him showing their support and acting as a sign of hope as men who have already gone through the process of being tested. The ribbon continues into the right half of the art piece along with the writing, which states “join the 40% [of men] that know their status!” On this half of the art piece, there are men’s hands holding up the ribbon as a symbol of unity, and the hand in purple is meant to represent the man on the left half of the art piece who has now joined the men who know their status. Finally, in the top right I wrote the following message “visit pruebadevih.org.mx to book a rapid HIV test, learn more about HIV, and learn about other free services.” I chose the Aids Health Foundation (AHF) in Mexico website since it is one of the largest HIV awareness and testing programs in Latin America and has focused on expanding rapid testing in the region.
E-Scooter Injuries at Harvard University
Video by Sophia Scott
Artist Statement: In recent years, electric scooter usage has risen in popularity as a result of how practical and versatile these micromobility devices are, especially in urban settings like college campuses. But along with the increased prevalence of e-scooters has come an influx of severe accidents, contributing to a major public health crisis and soaring healthcare costs related to such injuries. The populations that tend to suffer the most e-scooter related injuries are young people, males, and people who do not wear helmets—much like the scooter riders among Harvard’s student body. Many Harvard students, especially athletes, ride electric scooters on campus because the shuttle system is unreliable and infrequent, so they need another way to get to and from the athletic complex consistently. This problem-inspired product—a video public service announcement—aims to help mitigate this global health challenge by heightening riders’ awareness of the severe injuries that can result from e-scooter-riding. It also serves to encourage Harvard administrators to increase the reliability of the shuttle system so that students do not feel the need to resort to e-scooter use to get to class and practice on time.
Last year, one of my friends got into a very serious scooter accident on her way back from a practice. I saw her face bloody and badly injured. She was in tears from the pain of her injuries. Around that time, I had been considering getting a scooter to get around campus faster because I had classes at the Science and Engineering Complex in Allston, but I was often late due to the unreliable shuttle schedule. However, any thoughts I had of getting a scooter instantly evaporated the second I saw the extent and severity of my friend’s injuries immediately after her accident.
From the video interviews I did for this project, I learned—anecdotally—that many people on Harvard’s campus know that scooter accidents are very common, but that knowledge has not dissuaded them from riding their scooters, often without helmets. However, I know from personal experience that seeing the intensity of injuries from a scooter accident effectively changed the way I thought about the risk of riding a scooter on campus. This epiphany led me to choose a visual medium for my project in hopes of having the same impact on others by changing their thinking about the risk of riding a scooter. I intentionally chose graphic and unsettling imagery to better engage my audience and motivate behavioral changes related to promoting scooter safety.
My intended target audience is Harvard scooter riders and administrators. The changes in behavior I am hoping to inspire are two-fold. First, I hope my video will promote less scooter riding or at least greater use of safety gear among riders. Second, I hope my video will urge Harvard administrators to increase the frequency of shuttles to and from the campus athletic complex so that students will not feel like scooters are their only option to get to class or practice on time. The changes in thinking that I am hoping to inspire are that scooter accidents 1) can happen to you, and 2) can affect your ability to participate in sports. This second message is especially salient for my target audience because many scooter riders are athletes. I hope to drive this point home through the clips of athletes who mentioned that their scooter accident injuries prevented them from being able to participate fully in their sports or even made them unable to play all season.
Tuberculosis in Nairobi, Kenya
Extended Policy Brief by Daniela Shuman
Responsible Antibiotic Use in India
Educational Infographic and Flyer by Sanjana Singh
Artist Statement: Since the invention of antibiotics a little over a century ago, bacteria-killing drugs have become one of the most important tools in healthcare. Infections that were once death sentences are now able to be cured with just a few doses. However, the effectiveness of antibiotics is quickly diminishing as bacteria grow resistant to the medication and superbugs resistant to multiple antibiotics emerge. India, in particular, has become a hotspot for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Over the course of just 5 years, the common bacteria pneumoniae and E. Coli's susceptibility to antibiotic imipenem decreased by 22%. In 2019, 4.95 million deaths in India were associated with resistant infections, and 1.27 million were directly caused by it. These statistics are correlated to the rate of consumption of antibiotics in the country. In 2019, the country used a whopping 12.9 billion units of antibiotics, far exceeding the per capita global rate. These infographics aim to educate patients and providers on how to use and prescribe antibiotics responsibly.
I decided to create two educational materials for my project: an infographic targeting healthcare providers in private hospitals (See below) and a flyer to be distributed to patients and the general public in the same healthcare facilities’ waiting rooms (See left). Together, these materials are meant to educate providers and the public about why AMR is something to be concerned about and how many common practices in the country, like overprescription, self-prescription, and unfinished courses of antibiotics, contribute to the problem.
Maternal Mortality Disparities in the U.S.
Poster Series by Nell Williams
Artist Statement: Maternal mortality is a growing issue in America, especially within minority populations, such as Black women. In 2021, the overall maternal mortality rate in the U.S. was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, but for Black women, the rate was much higher, at 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. These posters seek to uplift, highlight, and empower the voices of Black pregnant individuals so they can have conversations about Black maternal mortality and make informed decisions about their care. While these posters cannot replace the deep-rooted, systemic changes needed to eliminate medical racism within America, until society catches up, it is important to provide as many resources and pieces of education as possible to the people affected in order to make them feel heard and empowered, as that can also make a difference.
This series of posters was made with the idea that when Black individuals go to an OBGYN office, a clinic, etc., they may be nervous about their experience and how they will be treated as a Black person in American healthcare spaces. Many Black individuals in America have experienced trauma from healthcare discrimination or racism and this has especially impacted Black pregnant individuals. So, hopefully seeing these posters hanging in a medical office could empower their voices instead of silencing them and provide comfort as they enter appointments and plan their pregnancy. These posters use the language “Black women,” “mothers,” “families,” etc., but trans and nonbinary people can also be pregnant, and a “family” or “guardian” takes many forms. The language in these posters reflects the language used in the data, which specifically focuses on Black women, but this information can be useful to any Black individual who wants to feel more empowered when pregnant.
The first poster, “Maternal Mortality Disparities,” features some baseline information and statistics on maternal mortality in America and focuses on the experiences of Black women. The infographic is not made to make the individuals viewing it more nervous, but to educate them on the risks and provide confidence when addressing concerns about their pregnancy with medical providers. The second poster, “Black Doula/Midwife Care,” provides information on doula and midwife care and the benefits for Black communities. When Black families use a Black doula/midwife service, there are fewer complications and better support during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. Finally, the third poster, “Beginning Conversations About Race with Medical Providers,” has some quick tips on beginning conversations about the increased risk for maternal mortality for Black women. Hopefully, this poster would encourage these necessary and vulnerable conversations, empowering the voice of the pregnant individual, while also making sure the medical provider is made aware of the mother’s concerns. Each poster has a QR code that lists additional resources to allow anyone viewing it to easily find more information when they leave the doctor’s office in which these posters would be placed.
Re-Imagining Homelessness in Mass. and Cass: Sketches of a Space Worth Knowing
Microsite and Illustrations by Emily Xing
Artist Statement: Homelessness is a major public health issue in the United States. Homeless individuals are at critically higher risk for health issues such as malnutrition, HIV, violence/rape, substance abuse disorder, and mental illnesses such as anxiety/depression. Homeless youth have triple the chance of becoming pregnant, and homeless individuals have an overall 1600% higher mortality rate. In Boston, the 14th largest homeless-rate city in the U.S., 1 in 8 people are homeless and the number increased 17.2% from 2022 to 2023. Mass. and Cass, also known as “Methadone Mile” or “Recovery Road,” is a collection of neighborhoods that one may encounter when stepping off of an MBTA bus, at the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard intersection. For a long time, it was a tent city and open-air drug market in the depths of industrial Boston, known as an “epicenter” for New England’s growing opioid crisis. It is the area with the highest homelessness rate in Boston. This project hopes to reimagine what Mass. and Cass may look like — and more importantly, how its people may interact with the space.
Growing up in Baltimore, I had always seen neighborhoods that people told me to “stay away from” because of drugs and homelessness. However, once I went to school and actually met many people from these neighborhoods, I realized that they needed the most care, attention, and respect; my best friend was a girl who was working 3 jobs to support her sister’s surgeries after they immigrated from Ecuador. Too often, we fail to see the inherent marginalization of poor and POC communities in our systems, from the readily available resources nearby to unclean living spaces that perpetuate cycles of disease. In particular, I’ve realized how intertwined our homes and personal health are—poor housing, pollution exposure, and access to resources all affect health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, injury/trauma, disease, etc. Moving from Baltimore to Boston, I saw a lot of similar homelessness, and I chose to focus on raising awareness around Mass. and Cass, where Boston’s homelessness is most concentrated, as an extreme example of an area embodying the system that has failed our homeless population.
I wanted to publish an emotional photo essay that would touch both the general public and policymakers and change the way they thought about Mass. and Cass, and homelessness in general. First, I provide background to this area (see screenshot above left), making people aware of its history and issues. I chose to include my sources as hyperlinks which is classic in social journalism to make accessing resources easy for my audience. Then I discussed current projects surrounding re-imaging it: what if the area these people lived in had more green spaces? What if there were more community-based resource centers to host group recovery workshops and therapy sessions? What if their care facilities and shelters were more just and cultivated more supporting social relationships? Then Mass. and Cass could no longer embody the illnesses the public associates with it. I chose to incorporate art into my multimedia project in creating visions for the outcomes of these hypotheticals, consisting of happier and more active communities because art is not only a powerful visual tool for change but also easy to understand for the public and policymakers. The realistic and re-imagined side-by-side comparison speaks to our emotional sides of “what could have been.” See Below
I mostly focus on pathos as my appeal method with the photos and artworks creating a cohesive story with my work’s structure. Boston’s governing body has taken many public health-based measures regarding Mass. and Cass, but I want to raise policy-based awareness for building upon the inherent nature of Mass. and Cass rather than overhauling it—such as turning tents into community health hubs and abandoned shelters into safe havens. For the general public, I want them to see Mass. and Cass citizens differently and consider ways of helping, from donations to volunteering to spreading awareness.
《看不见的礼物：二手烟的无声影响》Unseen Gifts: The Silent Impact of Second-Hand Smoke
Digital Artwork by Alina Yu
Artist Statement: Second-hand smoke (SHS) poses a significant global health challenge, particularly impacting children's health due to their developing bodies and the involuntary nature of their exposure. In China, the world's largest consumer and producer of tobacco, this issue is exacerbated by cultural norms around smoking and high smoking rates among adults. According to a comprehensive study of Chinese households, the prevalence of household SHS was 41.7%. The authors also found the prevalence of SHS exposure was 80% among adolescents aged 12–15, and 72.9% of junior high school students see smoking in homes, indoor and outdoor public places, or public transport. This digital artwork aims to change behaviors around smoking to reduce SHS exposure among children in China.
《看不见的礼物：二手烟的无声影响》("Unseen Gifts: The Silent Impact of Second-Hand Smoke”) is a provocative digital art piece that juxtaposes traditional Chinese values of filial piety and caring for the young with the unintended harm we inflict on younger generations through second-hand smoke. In China, where the act of giving red envelopes to children during Chinese New Year is deeply embedded in the culture, this piece uses the symbol of a red envelope—which traditionally contains money and blessings—to expose a harsh reality. Instead of prosperity and good fortune, the envelope releases cigarettes and smoke, embodying the dangerous gift of second-hand smoke that many children unwittingly receive from the older generation. The choice of this imagery is deliberate, aimed at creating a contrast from the societal norm where the older generation is expected to protect and nurture the younger. This piece challenges viewers to reflect on and change behaviors that contribute to the prevalent issue of second-hand smoke exposure among children in China, where smoking is widespread.
Artistically, the piece employs a crayon-like brush and scribbly visual elements to strengthen the juxtaposition between child-like innocence and the gravity of the subject matter. The visual style not only captures attention but also enhances the emotional impact, portraying the child in with a child-like and innocent aesthetic, holding an envelope filled with cigarettes—a stark and unsettling contrast. The child stares directly at the viewer, leaving no room for uncertainty as to who bears responsibility for this unseen gift. This direct engagement asks the audience, smoking Chinese adults, to acknowledge their role in perpetuating this harmful cycle and challenges them to take action. Furthermore, the cigarettes obscuring the child's mouth symbolize the silenced voices of children affected by adult choices as a child has no say in their exposure to second-hand smoke. Through this artwork, the message is clear: it is up to the adult viewer to protect children and ensure they are not exposed to the lifelong health detriments of second-hand smoke.
The Origin of Gen Ed 1063
Since its inaugural year, upwards of 2,100 students have taken the General Education course developed in 2010, SW24: Global Health Challenges: The Complexities of Evidence-Based Policy. In 2019, we revisited the original curriculum through the lens of the renewed Harvard College Program in General Education and reimagined the course through the lens of “urgent problems and pressing questions” in order to “explicitly connect the content in the classroom to the people they will become and their world beyond the university.” After field testing new approaches to structure, pedagogy, and assessment, the new curriculum included a modular format that emphasized interdisciplinary thinking, encouraged active student engagement in large and small groups, enhanced assignments that linked classroom concepts to current events, and replaced exams with projects.
Watch the video below to see a glimpse into the development of Gen Ed 1063: World Health: Challenges and Opportunities as Professor Goldie introduces twelve students who were invited to GHELI for the 2019 gallery opening where they reflected on the course and their projects.
Explore past galleries showcasing student projects from previous years:
Credits:
Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University