Browsing by Subject "Honduras"

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Open Access
An Assessment of Urbanization as it Relates to Caries Prevalence and its Determinants in Children in Copan, Honduras
(2012) Damgaard, Michael Boyd
Objective: To determine if a significant association exists between urbanization and dental caries prevalence, and whether or not similar relationships occur between community type and principal determinants of youth oral health in children ages 2 to 12 in the region of Copan, Honduras.
Methods: The investigator conducted a cross-sectional two-part interview with each participant. First, a survey was administered to the parent to collect information surrounding dental caries determinants. Second, the investigator performed a brief examination of child dentition to determine the number of existing caries. Data was collected from two separate patient populations: an urban sample of children within Copan Ruinas, and an indigenous sample from 15 surrounding rural villages.
Results: Samples consisted of 203 individuals from the urban population and 221 from the rural. While there was no visible association between caries prevalence and urbanization, teeth brushing, parent education, and sugar intake demonstrated highly significant correlations (P<0.01). Mean DMFT Score for the combined samples was 5.15.
Conclusion: There is a clear need for dental interventions both in urban and rural communities in Copan, Honduras. Sugar consumption is likely contributing to increased caries prevalence in the urban community. Other factors such as water fluoridation could be influencing DMFT scores in Copan's more rural villages.
Open Access
Assessing the Evaluation Methods of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Latin American Compact Projects
(2020-11-20) Norman, Savannah
Por décadas, agencias de desarrollo internacional se han esforzado para remediar los desafíos globales del desarrollo. Una de estas agencias es el Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). Este trabajo explora la programación del Millennium Challenge Coporation a través de sus evaluaciones. Específicamente, este trabajo evalúa la solidez técnica de las evaluaciones de los proyectos hondureñas, nicaragüenses, y salvadoreños del MCC, y también lo que los hallazgos y la solidez de estas evaluaciones significan para futuros proyectos en la región. A través de un análisis de documentos, este trabajo encontró que la evaluación promedia fue sólida técnicamente, como uso métricas consistentes, apropiadas, y objetivas. Sin embargo, la estructura de las evaluaciones varió según el autor y la agencia propietaria. Evaluaciones externas no directamente contradijeron los hallazgos de las evaluaciones financiadas por el MCC. Las evaluaciones no fueron inclusivas a los destinatarios originarios de la programación del MCC, los grupos beneficiarios. Entrevistas con los autores de las evaluaciones confirmaron estas conclusiones. Las implicaciones de estos hallazgos incluyen la importancia de procesos de desarrollo que son culturalmente competentes, inclusivos, multifacéticos, y que asimilan el aprendizaje de proyectos ya-completados. Los hallazgos de este trabajo se aplican al proceso de desarrollo y evaluación de Latinoamérica.
Open Access
Assessing the Evaluation Methods of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Latin American Compact Projects
(2020-11-20) Norman, Savannah
International development agencies have, for decades, worked to remedy global development challenges. One of these agencies is the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). This study explores the MCC’s Latin American programming via its evaluations. It specifically assesses the technical soundness of the MCC’s Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador evaluations, as well what the findings and soundness of evaluations mean for future projects in the region. Through document analysis, this study found that the average evaluation was technically sound, as it employed consistent, appropriate, and objective metrics. However, evaluation structure varied according to author and proprietor agency. External evaluations did not directly contradict the findings of MCC-sponsored evaluations. Evaluations were not inclusive to the intended recipients of MCC programming, beneficiary groups. Interviews with the authors of evaluations confirmed these findings. The implications of findings include the importance of culturally competent, inclusive, and multi-faceted development processes that assimilate learning from prior programming. Findings are applicable to development and evaluation processes in Latin America.
Open Access
Exploring Machista Gender Roles and Psychosocial Well-being: An Exploratory Analysis in Camasca, Honduras
(2019-04-20) Malo, Vincenzo
There is a severe lack of mental health research in rural regions of Latin America like Camasca, Honduras, where typically there exists a societal construct of hypermasculinity and patriarchal authority termed machismo. Much of the current literature on psychosocial factors of mental health in settings with machismo report gender disparities with women experiencing worse outcomes. This study sought to characterize indicators of machismo through division of labor and perceived parental roles, and to then use these data to explore their interactions with psychosocial aspects of mental health. This study recruited 53 participants (41 female) from Camasca, Honduras to participate in orally-administered interviews. Three scales for resilience, general stress, and parental stress were administered in addition to open-ended questions to gauge satisfaction with and comfort discussing parental responsibilities across gender. Overall, the majority of participants reported there are gender differences in parental responsibilities with most explanations mentioning men working as a family’s economic provider and women taking on childcare responsibilities. There were trends towards men experiencing worse levels of general stress and parental stress, although there were no gender differences in resilience. These measurements did not vary by differences in perceived parental responsibilities. Most women reported being more comfortable discussing parental responsibilities with other women, while men typically reported no preference. In light of these results, machista societal organization creates a unique context in which to study psychosocial well-being and provides a useful lens for understanding health disparities in similar gender-rigid contexts. These results suggest that perhaps there is an internalization of traditional gender norms, such that men and women report stressors according to what is deemed stressful in their society, and that furthermore gender-disparate workforces may contribute to gender-specific experiences. Gender-specific differences may also emerge from the importance of agricultural industry, suggesting a possible factor perpetuating machista norms.
Open Access
Food Advertising on Television Targeting Children in Honduras
(2012) Gunderson, Matthew Donald
Abstract
Background: Rates of childhood overweight and obesity have increased dramatically across Latin America in recent years. In Honduras, the problem is more common among children of upper and middle socio-economic status (SES). Evidence suggests that television advertising of high-energy-density (HED) foods may be associated with increased rates of childhood overweight and obesity.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize the advertising of foods during television programming that targets school-age children in Honduras.
Methods: Content analysis was performed on four different television stations accessible to children in Honduras, including one broadcast station and three cable networks. Programming for each station was observed and recorded for one complete week, during after-school hours (defined as 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday). Eighty hours of programming were recorded and analyzed. Foods were categorized as being high in energy density or not (HED or non-HED).
Results: A total of 2271 advertisements aired during the observation period; roughly half of these (49.3 percent) were product advertisements. Of the 1120 product advertisements, 397 marketed food-related products. Of these, 69.8 percent promoted HED foods. Children were targeted in the vast majority of advertisements for HED foods (92.1 percent). All of these foods were advertised on cable networks; none of the advertisements for HED foods were aired on broadcast television.
Conclusion: Cable television during after-school hours in Honduras included a high percentage of advertisements for HED foods. This may promote consumption of these foods by children, putting them at greater risk for overweight and obesity.
Open Access
Influence of social support on childhood vaccine uptake in a migrant community in Roatan, Honduras
(2019-04-01) Watkins, Kathryn
According to the World Health Organization, greater social support from family, friends, and community members is correlated with better health outcomes. In the migrant community of La Colonia on the island of Roatán, Honduras, most residents are lower-income, young families who emigrate from the mainland seeking better job and educational opportunities. In the process of migration, families typically lose social support networks and structures they previously had access to. In a study in 2016, our team found that in comparison to the rest of Roatan, children living in La Colonia had lower vaccination coverage. In the current study, we sought to examine the role of social support on childhood vaccine uptake in La Colonia. In summer 2018, we completed fifty surveys of mothers with young children living in La Colonia. The survey included standardized social support questions to evaluate linkages between self-reported social connectedness and vaccine uptake. In addition, two focus groups with mothers of young children living in La Colonia were conducted to understand the ways that mothers leverage social support networks and CHW interactions to access and provide healthcare. Vaccination uptake among young children in La Colonia was above 97% for all but one vaccine; however, we found that some mothers reported difficulty accessing vaccines related to a lack of social support. We did not find any statistically significant relationship between vaccine uptake and social support from our survey social support scale, likely due to high vaccine uptake and small sample size of children with accessible vaccine cards at the time of the survey (n=35). We also found that mothers view churches as an acceptable social apparatus for dissemination of health knowledge and community-based childhood interventions. These results suggest that building social support in migrant communities is important for uptake of preventive behaviors, particularly vaccines, although more research is needed to determine if a statistically significant relationship exists between social support and vaccine uptake. Churches could be leveraged as venues to offer interventions aimed at increasing vaccine uptake and community knowledge about benefits of vaccinations.
Open Access
International crises and global health electives: lessons for faculty and institutions.
(Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 2010-10) Steiner, Beat D; Carlough, Martha; Dent, Georgette; Peña, Rodolfo; Morgan, Douglas R
Student participation in global health electives and community service initiatives is associated with a number of favorable outcomes, and student interest in participating in such experiences is high. Increasingly, medical schools are facilitating and supervising global health opportunities. The inherent risks and uncertainties of global community service deserve careful consideration as schools engage more actively in this area. This article presents how one institution managed three crises in three electives in a single year. The H1N1 flu epidemic impacted a group of students bound for Mexico, a political upheaval affected a student group working in Honduras, and a hurricane threatened a student group in Nicaragua. This article outlines lessons learned from responding to these crises. Well-defined institutional travel policies, clear communication plans in the event of an emergency, a responsible administrative entity for global experiences, and formal predeparture training for students and faculty can help institutions better respond to unpredictable events. A comprehensive examination of these lessons and reflections on how to institutionalize the various components may help other institutions prepare for such events and lessen negative impact on student learning.
Open Access
La Promoción de la Salud en Intibucá, Honduras: Empoderamiento, Conexión Comunitaria, Confianza en Atención Hondureña
(2022-04-11) Linder, Brian
Esta tesis tiene una colección de conocimientos que adquirí por la curiosidad que tenía acerca de las brigadas médicas y su impacto en la confianza en servicios de salud, la influencia neocolonial estadounidense en el país de Honduras, y el papel de los promotores de salud en Intibucá. El propósito de la tesis es determinar la importancia de confianza en sistemas y servicios de salud, explorar las historias relevantes de neocolonialismo y sus expresiones en instituciones actuales, y proponer una solución posible a través del rol indispensable de los promotores de la salud comunitarios. Esta tesis tiene el deseo de imaginar la posibilidad de una comunidad sana y autosostenible.
Open Access
Social and Behavioral Determinants of Child Undernutrition in Camasca, Honduras
(2020-04-17) Iskandarani, Maya
Child undernutrition remains a significant health challenge around the world despite its high-priority status on the global health agenda. While the global burden of child undernutrition has reached historically low levels, it remains a pressing issue in rural communities of Central America. Through a partnership with a grassroots intervention targeting child undernutrition, this study sought to explore predictors of child nutrition knowledge and child growth outcomes in the community of Camasca in Honduras.
Open Access
Sugar Consumption and Prevalence of Dental Decay Among Children 12-Years of Age and Younger in Rural Honduras
(2011) Wheeler, Kendra
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of dental caries among children 6-months to 12-years-old in rural Honduras, and to explore the hypothesis that sugar consumption is positively correlated with dental decay among children 6-months to 12-years old in rural Honduras.
Methods: An interviewer implemented a cross-sectional survey of dental health determinants using convenience sampling. The same interviewer then examined the dentition of survey participants for dental decay according to the dental caries criteria recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Results: The study included a sample of 532 children from 8 rural communities. Seventy percent of children surveyed had decay of their primary dentition. The average dmft score in this population was 3.52 (SD=3.57). A logistic regression model yielded that children who eat more than 2.5 pieces of candy per day have at least twice the odds of dental decay compared to children who eat less candy.
Conclusion: These results establish that caries burden in primary dentition in these communities is higher than the WHO goal, and support the hypothesis that increased sugar consumption correlates positively to increased burden of decay.