Overview

Since 2005, a 2.5 credit graduate course called the Field Study on Health System Reforms in China has been offered at Harvard University in the months of December (orientation seminars) and January (field studies in China). This course is designed and conducted by Professor Yuanli Liu, an expert on international health systems and the founding director of the China Initiative.  Each winter, a Harvard delegation consisting of 15-20 graduate students (masters as well as doctoral students) from the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and the Kennedy School of Government attends Professor Liu's seminars on health system analysis and China's health system.  They then spend three weeks in China attending guest seminars and conducting field visits to various healthcare organizations and households, in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of China's health sector.   Based on these experiences, they then formulate sensible policy recommendations for reforming China's healthcare system.  At the end of the field trip, a Health System Reforms Workshop is held, where 4-5 group presentations are made on different aspects of the group's analysis of China's health care system. The workshop was held at the Chinese Ministry of Health in January 2006, and at Tsinghua University in January 2007. All participants of this course are required to submit research papers, some of which have been turned into publishable articles.

2009 Winter Session Field Study in China

The 2009 China Winter Session was a remarkable trip that had an unprecedented agenda which afforded its participants a rare opportunity to see the ‘many faces' of China in a short span. Participants of the 2009 China trip experienced everything from the impressive high rises terrain of Beijing and Shanghai to the modest though compelling habitations in Chengdu and Hainan. Guided by four key research areas - community health (Beijing), emergency medicine (Wenchuan), rural health care (Hainain) and consumer participation (Shanghai) - trip participants engaged with an array of health care professionals, providers, high level administrators and consumers.

Wenchuan was, by all accounts, the most extraordinary component of the 2009 Winter Session. Students interacted with county government and health officials and health care workers who recounted their first hand experience during the 5/12 earthquake. The visit was impassionate as the destruction from the earthquake was still largely apparent. However, it was also highly inspiring to learn of (and see the outcomes of) all the collective recovery efforts that had been undertaken.

In all, the students were immersed in the concepts, operations and implementation of the multi-varied Chinese health care system, all the while experiencing the diverse culture of China.

2009 Winter Session Field Study in China Gallery