American Samoa assessment for a continuing health care professional development program

In 2003, the University of Hawai'i Department of Family Medicine & Community Health entered a 4-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to establish the "Pacific Association for Clinical Training" (PACT). PACT's goal is to develop effective distance education methods to improve the education and skills of healtcare professionals in the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Island nations. To determine the situation existing in 2004, one of PACT's first projects was to perform site visits to each jurisdiction, conducting needs assessments through interviews with key healtcare professionals, hospital administrators, and government officials. This article highlights findings of PACT's American Samoa assessment. Meant to establish a baseline for future reference, all data are those collected in 2004/2005 and have not been updated.