Educational Activities for Health Care Promoters in Haiti: Insights Gained over the Years

Purpose:

For more than fourteen years, several nurse educators from the Dallas-Fort

Worth, Texas area have participated in educational activities for health care promoters in Port-au-Prince,

Haiti. A collaborative effort began with U.S. nurse educators first developing a trust relationship

with colleagues at Grace Children’s Hospital. Identifying what the educators could accomplish and

following through with commitments was key.

Methods:

In the beginning, nurse educators did informal walking rounds with nursing management at

Grace Children’s Hospital. Learning needs were identified by management and staff. Nursing

leadership requested assistance to develop a program for nursing management. The first

program was done by the U.S. nurse educators to include developing evaluation forms and

certificates. Over the years, the leadership, with mentoring, have become proficient in

developing programs. Topics have included nursing leadership, nursing management, infectious

diseases, and nursing research. After the 2010 earthquake, a rehabilitation workshop led to a

collaborative research project. The study results will be published in 2015.

Results:

Nursing leadership learned to develop budgets for programs to cover expenses for handouts,

refreshments, lunch and translators. Presenters cover their expenses; attendees from outside the

organization are asked to pay a small fee; donations from Sigma Theta Tau International

chapters, Delta Theta Tau at the University of Texas at Arlington and Beta Beta at Texas

Woman’s University, and other organizations offset costs of lunch and refreshments.

Conclusion:

Having a shared vision with mutual needs, representatives from the Haiti National School of

Nursing and Haiti King’s Hospital Organization were on the planning committee for the

thirteenth symposium held in November 2014. Topics on the agenda included the Ebola virus

and other infectious diseases of concern to Haiti. Participants also received instruction on how to

complete a learning needs assessment, the results of which revealed the need for

simulation–based training. Plans are underway to implement a simulation laboratory at Grace

Children’s Hospital which will enable a more complex and detailed collaboration. Suggestions

for topics for the next symposium were offered.