Outcomes of an Immersion Proiect in the Dominican Republic Bateyes

Faculty and nursing students from a southeastern college participated in a service-learning immersion in an intra-professional collaboration to treat migrant workers living in the bateyes (the name given to those communities that reside inside sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic that are comprised mainly of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent) in the targeted Dominican Republic agricultural plantations. The mission team included physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and nursing students These team members provided health assessment, screenings, and preventive health education to men, women, and children, and their families. The students were provided an in-depth orientation and briefed about what to expect during their visit to a foreign culture. Students were informed about local nursing care practices, beliefs of health-care practices, and the possibility of unexpected occurrences in the bateyes. The cultural and health issues of the Haitian migrant workers living in the bateyes were discussed prior to the trip, and upon arrival in the Dominican Republic. The immersion field experience had two primary aims, which included: 1. Exposing students to a field experience in another country that created avenues for developing a global perspective; and 2. Exposing students to methods of collecting and analyzing retrospective data to glean an understanding of the healthcare needs of individuals living in the Dominican Republic. The charts of 735 patients from the 1437 patients (51%) treated were analyzed with 49% not accounted for. Of those patients, 59% were females and 41% were males. The lower number of males in this retrospective study was probably due to restrictions of working with sugar cane; the males had difficulties leaving their work to be seen by the health-care professionals. The largest age group was the 12-21 age group (24%), with the next age groups 22-32 (18%), 6-11 (16%) and 33-43 (11%), 44-54(9%),0-5 (9%), 55-65 (7%), 66-76 (4%), and 77-87(2%). Many patients had multiple diagnoses in multiple diagnostic categories with the most frequent diagnosis, Gastrointestinal (24%), followed by Neurology (16%), Respiratory (14%), Genitourinary (11%), Musculoskeletal (10%), Dermatology (8%), Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat (8%), Cardiology (7%), and Hematology (2%).