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The Regis College School of Nursing and Health Professions is actively engaged in an international nurse faculty development project in Haiti, providing graduate nursing education to current nurse faculty in an effort to elevate nursing education to the baccalaureate level in Haiti. In the spring 2012 semester three graduate nurse faculty from Regis taught a community health course in an intensive onsite course format. We traveled to Haiti for intensive classroom work in March 2012. The course culminated in June with Haitian faculty presenting their community based projects here at Regis College.
Methods:
Our curriculum was adapted to fit an intensive format and tailored to meet the needs of our colleagues in Haiti. While in Haiti we addressed the components of baccalaureate level education in community-oriented nursing practice. We explored factors that influence the health of the community with emphasis on environmental problems, health surveillance, and assessment of the health status of the community. Final presentations included epidemiology of population based disease and community health assessment, the health status of vulnerable populations and cultural diversity as it related to health beliefs, and the presence and effect of communicable disease within the population.
Results:
The outcome of this course was two-fold:
- provide a model for teaching of Community Health Nursing at a baccalaureate level
- to conduct a community health assessment in the neighborhoods or regions of Haiti
Final community assessments required the identification and analysis of a community health problem, clarification of the problem by identifying contributing factors, establishing priorities, goals and objectives, and establishment of appropriate interventions.
Conclusion:
Their presentations demonstrated an in-depth understanding and analysis of an identified problem, factors that contributed to the problem, and development of interventions necessary for expected outcomes, meeting the standards set forth in a baccalaureate nursing curriculum.