Voices from the field

Wanny and Ericka are lending their voices to the blog and letting us know EXACTLY what MDR has been up to in the Santiago region for the past few months. We hope you enjoy the update and info as much as we are proud of the hard work and dedication of our organization!

What a year we are having in 2019 !!!!

We are training the health personnel of the first level of care in the diagnosis and initial management of Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia.

The most recent data from the National Epidemiological Surveillance System of the Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic show that the MMT was measured at 113 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018 (1). It is estimated that 70% of deaths were due to direct obstetric causes with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, delivery and the puerperal period, which represent 36%. Followed by obstetric hemorrhage (18%), infections related to pregnancy (14%), and miscarriage (13%) (2).

In collaboration with the local authorities of the Regional Health Service of North Central and Western Cibao, we are conducting workshops with health providers of primary health care centers. In these 3 months we have carried out 9 workshops where we have been able to train approximately 200 professionals, who provide direct care to pregnant women in these health centers. In addition, we are providing support and follow-up to local coaches who were trained in October 2018, so they can reproduce their knowledge and skills.

We continue doing the courses of Helping babies in Puerto Plata where we have had many advances in the training of nursing staff and students of the last year of medicine. Based on these trainings, improvements are being made in the organization of work areas and distribution of personnel in order to improve the quality of care for mothers and newborns. We will now begin training for the Essential Care of Every Baby.

Thank you for reading!

Wanny and Ericka

En Español:

Que tenemos este año 2019!!!!

Estamos entrenando al personal de salud del primer nivel de atención en el diagnóstico y manejo inicial de Pre-eclampsia y Eclampsia.

Los datos más recientes del Sistema Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica del Ministerio de Salud de República Dominicana muestran que el TMM se midió en 113 muertes por cada 100,000 nacidos vivos en 2018 (1). Se estima que el 70% de las muertes se debieron a causas obstétricas directas con trastornos hipertensivos durante el embarazo, el parto y el período puerperal, que representan el 36%. Seguidas de hemorragia obstétrica (18%), infecciones relacionadas con el embarazo (14%) , y aborto involuntario (13%) (2).

En colaboración con las autoridades locales del Servicio Regional de Salud Norcentral y Cibao Occidental, estamos realizando talleres con los proveedores de salud de los centros de salud de atención primaria. En estos 3 meses hemos realizado 9 talleres donde hemos podido entrenar aproximadamente 200 profesionales, que brindan atención directa a las embarazadas en estos centros de salud. Además, estamos brindando apoyo y seguimiento a los entrenadores locales que se capacitaron en octubre del 2018, para que puedan reproducir sus conocimientos y habilidades.

Continuamos realizando los cursos de Ayudando a los bebés en Puerto Plata donde hemos tenido muchos avances en la capacitación del personal de enfermería y estudiantes del último año de medicina. A partir de estos entrenamientos se están realizando mejoras en la organización de las áreas de trabajo y distribución del personal en busca de mejorar la calidad de la atención de las madres y los recién nacidos. Iniciaremos ahora las capacitaciones sobre los Cuidados Esenciales de cada Bebé.

Gracias por su atención!

Wanny y Ericka

References:

1. Ministry of Public Health. Dirección General de Epidemiología. Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, Year 2018, Week 52. Available from: http://digepisalud.gob.do/documentos/?drawer=Boletines%20epidemiologicos*Boletines%20semanales*2018

2. Pan American Health Organization and WHO. Dominican Republic. Health in the Americas. Available from: https://www.paho.org/salud-en-las-americas-2017/?p=4014&lang=en