Lisa Segre, PhD and associate professor at UI’s College of Nursing, was recently bestowed with a Global Curriculum Development Award for her proposal to substantially revise the course material for “Human Development and Behavior.” The award is funded through International Programs and the Stanley-UI Foundation Support Organization.

“Human Development and Behavior is a foundational course that is taken by many students every year. Introducing the idea that ‘west is not necessarily best’ and examining specific cultural differences in development, not only exposes students to specific international content, but it models the premise that taking into account cultural differences is something that they, as health care providers, should be doing,” explained Dr. Segre.

Human Development and Behavior is required for nursing/nursing-interest students and is also taken by other health science students. The course provides a survey of theories of human development, developmental research, and a snapshot of individuals across the lifespan in terms of physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Offered annually in the spring with an average enrollment of approximately 225 students, Dr. Segre has taught the course since 2009.

In the course, the lifespan is divided into eight stages (time periods), ranging from prenatal development and birth through the end-of-life. The curriculum development award will provide Dr. Segre dedicated time to research cross-cultural content and incorporate it into the class. She firmly believes this revised curriculum will familiarize students with global and multicultural perspectives of human development across the lifespan.

“The goal in revising the course is to introduce future health care professionals in Iowa to multiple cultural perspectives as they pertain to lifespan development,” added Dr. Segre. “In turn, they will be able to use this cross-cultural understanding in their future clinical work, helping them provide culturally-informed care to diverse patient populations.”

Through the award, Dr. Segre will receive funding for research and travel, some of which she intends to use to attend an International Marcé Society conference in Bangalore, India, in the fall of 2018. During this conference, she will have the opportunity to observe cultural practices around birth and maternal mental well-being, providing additional cross-cultural content for future course revisions.

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