Sites: Leogane, Haiti
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Location: Léogâne, Haiti Facility: Hôpital Sainte Croix (Holy Cross Hospital) Organizational Affiliation: Family Health Ministries, Inc. Site Preceptor: Delson Mérisier, MD; Chief, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hôpital Sainte Croix; Director of Family Health Ministries Cervical Cancer Prevention Program in Léogâne |
Background: In 1993, Dr. Jean-Claude Fertillien (Hôpital Sainte Croix) and Dr. David Walmer (Duke University) began a collaborative effort to prevent cervical cancer in the Léogâne Commune of Haiti. As part of this effort, Drs. Fertillien, Noel, and Mérisier from Hôpital Sainte Croix received colposcopy training at Duke. For the first nine years in Haiti, this program was a part-time effort within the women's health care clinic. In 2002, support from Family Health Ministries (FHM) allowed the program to acquire a dedicated clinic site and staff to begin full-time screening and treatment for women. As of April 2005, the medical director, Dr. Mérisier, had screened 1,642 women and identified 64 advanced cervical carcinomas (3.9%). |
Clinical Opportunities: Opportunities exist for faculty, residents, and medical students to participate in the cervical cancer prevention program at Hôpital Sainte Croix, a 120 bed general hospital under the mentorship of Duke-trained physicians. |
Research: Research in reproductive health and obstetrics and gynecology is encouraged. The Haiti-based doctors' evaluation of the limitations of care at the site inspired the development and testing of a portable battery-powered colposcope through collaborations with Dr. David Katz in Duke's Department of Medical Engineering. These data were published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2004;37:S167-170. Drs. Walmer and Mérisier continue to investigate the effectiveness of single-day screening and treatment strategies for premalignant lesions of the cervix in Haiti, as well as the relationship between HIV and risk for contracting the human papillomavirus. |