Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing Countries
Background: During a 3-year time frame, a partnership between medical trainees in Haiti and the United States was forged with the objective of implementing an emergency response skills curriculum at a medical school in Port-au-Prince. The effort sought to assess the validity of a near-peer, bidirect...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ubiquity Press
2015-06-01
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| Series: | Annals of Global Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/1531 |
| _version_ | 1818347334175555584 |
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| author | Christian A. Pean Keithara Davis Robert Merrill Brett Marinelli Allison Lockwood Zara Mathews Reuben J. Strayer Geneviéve Poitevien Jennifer Galjour |
| author_facet | Christian A. Pean Keithara Davis Robert Merrill Brett Marinelli Allison Lockwood Zara Mathews Reuben J. Strayer Geneviéve Poitevien Jennifer Galjour |
| author_sort | Christian A. Pean |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: During a 3-year time frame, a partnership between medical trainees in Haiti and the United States was forged with the objective of implementing an emergency response skills curriculum at a medical school in Port-au-Prince. The effort sought to assess the validity of a near-peer, bidirectional, cross-cultural teaching format as both a <a title="Learn more about Global Health" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/global-health">global health</a> experience for medical students and as an effective component of improving medical education and emergency response infrastructure in developing countries such as Haiti. Method: Medical students and emergency medicine (EM) residents from a North American medical school designed and taught a module on emergency response skills in PAP and certified medical students in basic cardiac life support (BLS) over 2 consecutive years. Five-point Likert scale self-efficacy (SE) surveys and multiple-choice fund of knowledge (FOK) assessments were distributed pre- and postmodule each year and analyzed with paired 't'tests and longitudinal follow-up of the first cohort. Narrative evaluations from participants were collected to gather feedback for improving the module. Findings: Challenges included bridging language barriers, maintaining continuity between cohorts, and adapting to unexpected schedule changes. Overall, 115 students were certified in BLS with significant postcurriculum improvements in SE scores (2.75 ± 0.93 in 2013 and 2.82 ± 1.06 in 2014; 'P' < 0.001) and FOK scores (22% ± 15% in 2013 and 41% ± 16% in 2014; 'P' < 0.001). Of 24 Haitian students surveyed at 1-year follow-up from the 2013 cohort, 7 (29.3%) reported using taught skills in real-life situations since completing the module. The US group was invited to repeat the project for a third year. Conclusions: Near-peer, cross-cultural academic exchange is an effective method of medical student–centered emergency training in Haiti. Limitations such as successfully implementing sustainability measures, addressing cultural differences, and coordinating between groups persist. This scalable, reproducible, and mutually beneficial collaboration between North American and Haitian medical trainees is a valid conduit for building Haiti's emergency response infrastructure and promoting global health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:32:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ec0be94bb8a435a92e5b68565a61ebe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-9996 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:32:30Z |
| publishDate | 2015-06-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Global Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ec0be94bb8a435a92e5b68565a61ebe2022-12-21T23:37:01ZengUbiquity PressAnnals of Global Health2214-99962015-06-0181227628210.1016/j.aogh.2015.03.0021434Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing CountriesChristian A. Pean0Keithara Davis1Robert Merrill2Brett Marinelli3Allison Lockwood4Zara Mathews5Reuben J. Strayer6Geneviéve Poitevien7Jennifer Galjour8Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYFaculté des Sciences de la Santé, Université Quisqueya, Port-au-Prince, HaitiIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NYBackground: During a 3-year time frame, a partnership between medical trainees in Haiti and the United States was forged with the objective of implementing an emergency response skills curriculum at a medical school in Port-au-Prince. The effort sought to assess the validity of a near-peer, bidirectional, cross-cultural teaching format as both a <a title="Learn more about Global Health" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/global-health">global health</a> experience for medical students and as an effective component of improving medical education and emergency response infrastructure in developing countries such as Haiti. Method: Medical students and emergency medicine (EM) residents from a North American medical school designed and taught a module on emergency response skills in PAP and certified medical students in basic cardiac life support (BLS) over 2 consecutive years. Five-point Likert scale self-efficacy (SE) surveys and multiple-choice fund of knowledge (FOK) assessments were distributed pre- and postmodule each year and analyzed with paired 't'tests and longitudinal follow-up of the first cohort. Narrative evaluations from participants were collected to gather feedback for improving the module. Findings: Challenges included bridging language barriers, maintaining continuity between cohorts, and adapting to unexpected schedule changes. Overall, 115 students were certified in BLS with significant postcurriculum improvements in SE scores (2.75 ± 0.93 in 2013 and 2.82 ± 1.06 in 2014; 'P' < 0.001) and FOK scores (22% ± 15% in 2013 and 41% ± 16% in 2014; 'P' < 0.001). Of 24 Haitian students surveyed at 1-year follow-up from the 2013 cohort, 7 (29.3%) reported using taught skills in real-life situations since completing the module. The US group was invited to repeat the project for a third year. Conclusions: Near-peer, cross-cultural academic exchange is an effective method of medical student–centered emergency training in Haiti. Limitations such as successfully implementing sustainability measures, addressing cultural differences, and coordinating between groups persist. This scalable, reproducible, and mutually beneficial collaboration between North American and Haitian medical trainees is a valid conduit for building Haiti's emergency response infrastructure and promoting global health.https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/1531prehospital carefirst respondermedical educationresuscitationtraumaHaitiglobal health |
| spellingShingle | Christian A. Pean Keithara Davis Robert Merrill Brett Marinelli Allison Lockwood Zara Mathews Reuben J. Strayer Geneviéve Poitevien Jennifer Galjour Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing Countries Annals of Global Health prehospital care first responder medical education resuscitation trauma Haiti global health |
| title | Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing Countries |
| title_full | Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing Countries |
| title_fullStr | Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing Countries |
| title_short | Near-Peer Emergency Medicine for Medical Students in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: An Example of Rethinking Global Health Interventions in Developing Countries |
| title_sort | near peer emergency medicine for medical students in port au prince haiti an example of rethinking global health interventions in developing countries |
| topic | prehospital care first responder medical education resuscitation trauma Haiti global health |
| url | https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/1531 |
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