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Sustainable Community Health Education

International Medical Relief (IMR) provides sustainable community health education to all of the communities we serve. When communities become empowered to take health and wellness issues into their own hands they become self-sufficient. Through classes and hands-on learning, IMR medical mission trips provide learning opportunities for the local communities to sustain their well-being beyond our visits.

We also provide technical expertise to local medical professionals through a partnership with them in diagnosis assistance and a mutual exchange of ideas. Clean water, basic hygiene, and nutritional tips can go a long way toward saving lives and stopping the spread of disease. These classes are based on the leading health indicators from United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) and in collaboration with strategic plans from the ministry of health of each specific country.

IMR front line responders serve to provide effective and productive community health education that allows locals to become more empowered to take care of their own health, as well as the health of other community members. This model allows for both teaching and learning from the provider and the patient to grow the health capacities of communities to help influence a better tomorrow.

Through these education initiatives, IMR is able to help grow the capacities of healthcare in local communities and increase the overall well-being and health of the population. By working with our partners and local health officials, we are able to conduct an education plan that is impactful to the specific communities we serve.

Creating a roadmap to a healthier tomorrow in collaboration with our international partners is imperative to reaching our greatest level of success.  IMR promotes well-being and multi-disciplinary approaches to health within the setting of everyday life.  Education is a primary goal in every community.  We work diligently toward creating strong, pertinent, culturally responsible training materials to elevate community health outcomes in the communities we serve. 

Community health education is the provision of accurate and truthful information so that a person can become knowledgable about a the subject and make informed choices.  Health promotion and disease prevention programs focus on keeping people healthy.  Health promotion programs aim to engage and empower individuals and communities to choose healthy behaviors, and make changes that reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases and other morbidities.

Improving Overall Community Health:
Our global health teams improve the overall health status through community health education in each location in which we work around the globe. We conduct needs assessments to gather detailed data in many areas including:

  • overall health status
  • epidemiology of current regional health issues
  • quarantinable diseases
  • emerging infectious diseases summary
  • communicable diseases summary
  • recent outbreaks and epidemics
  • morbidity and mortality report
  • community approaches to diagnosing
  • occupational health methods
  • emergency service and triage capabilities
  • lab capabilities
  • physical infrastructure
  • clinical and personal capabilities
  • resource availability
  • health system
  • nutrition
  • environmental health including sanitation
  • water supply and pollution
  • preventative measures
  • training capabilities

Community Health Education Module Library

Through our work over the years, IMR has built a library of community health education modules that provide the framework for our courses as the community health education is the core of our clinics.

Community health education specializes in preparing the patients, community leaders, health officials to address real-world health care challenges, health disparities, and epidemics (e.g., obesity, diabetes, bullying/violence, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases, etc.). It is also important to be sharing information that correlates with what is being taught by local health promoters as to strengthen their teaching long after our teams return home. 

Basic Classes

Handwashing

Rehydration

Clean Drinking Water

Oral Health

Body Mechanics

Ophthalmic

Basic Health Overview

LOW DOSE - HIGH-FREQUENCY MODEL

LDHF is a capacity-building approach that promotes maximum retention of clinical knowledge, skills, and attitudes through short, targeted in-service simulation-based learning activities, which are spaced over time and reinforced with structured, ongoing practice sessions.

 

What Does the LDHF Approach Entail?

 
LDHF learning and capacity-building are achieved through two important and distinct applications:
  1. Clinical content is delivered during short simulation-based learning activities, which are spaced over time to optimize learning.
  2. Ongoing practice sessions follow each in-service education activity to cement and sustain learning. These sessions are completed before progressing to additional clinical content. Practice sessions are brief and use a combination of training techniques that engage learners. These sessions may include role play, team drills, and clinical simulations to support clinical decision-making as well as hands-on repetition of skills with feedback from a peer mentor.

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Guatemala, Jun 29-Jul 6, 2019

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