2011 UNC Rosenfeld.J.

CONFERENCE: UNC –  Africa AHEAD SIDE EVENT 

YEAR: 2011

AUTHORS: Rosenfeld, J.

TITLE: Salud Total! Community Health Clubs in Dominican Bateyes

LINK: 

ABSTRACT:

Haitian authorities reported the first cases of a cholera epidemic that quickly spread, resulting in over 580,000 confirmed cases and almost 7,500 deaths, including over 7,500 confirmed cases and 131 deaths in the Dominican Republic. After an absence of over a century, cholera is now expected to remain endemic on Hispaniola until the underlying structural, behavioral and social conditions on both sides of the island are addressed. While households in the Dominican Republic in general were at a lower risk for the transmission of cholera than their Haitian neighbors, those that live in bateyes (unincorporated settlements of displaced and migrant Haitians laborers) are highly vulnerable due to a lack of basic government services like safe water, sanitation and education. In response, the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has collaborated with the Children of the Nations organization and the Universidad Iberoamericana to implement a Community Health Club project in 5 urban and rural communities in the Barahona Province of the Dominican Republic. To date, 6 Community Health Clubs have been formed, with an average membership of 38 people per club, and have completed half of the 24 weekly sessions. This presentation will discuss the formation of this project and the lessons learned during this first adaptation of the methodology in Latin American and the Caribbean.