Community Health Assessmment on Social Determinants of Health in Rural Honduras: Interprofessional Learning in Action

Background: Honduras is classified as a middle-income country with rural areas that lack basic healthcare services. In the rural areas, the geographic terrain is often a barrier to mobilizing to access healthcare services in neighboring communities. The School of Pharmacy (SOP) at Wingate University collaborates with Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc. (STS) on medical brigades that create, operate, and support sustainable and accessible health, nutrition, and education services in the community of Guachipilincito located in rural Southern Intibucá, Honduras. The aim of this work was to develop a community assessment to understand the healthcare experiences of residents of Guachipilincito with a focus on social determinants of health.
Design: A census survey development was led by a public health faculty and two MPH students as part of a medical brigade team that included students from various disciplines such as pharmacy, nursing, public health, and third-year family practice residents. The survey included questions on family structure, sociodemographics, access to dental and healthcare, physical living conditions, health behaviors, chronic conditions, and medication use. In February 2024, the survey was administered as part of the medical brigade using three interprofessional teams that were each led by each of the public health members.
Results: The interprofessional survey teams visited a total of 118 homes; 96 households completed the surveys. Based on the data from the surveys, a total of 362 residents live in the catchment area. There were more females (53.5%) than males (46.5%). The mean age was 33 years (range: 4 months to 94 years). In terms of educational attainment, the majority (94.3%) had completed 6th grade or lower.
Conclusion: The community assessment conducted as part of a medical brigade highlights the importance engaging an interprofessional team in the development and administration of a
survey in a developing country. The importance of clear communication and applying cultural humility will be discussed.
Reflections and Lessons Learned: Interprofessional education was brought into action in order to gather data that can inform evidence-based programs and services that address the health, education and nutrition of the Guachipilincito community. The experience highlighted the importance of interprofessional collaboration and teamwork to meet the needs of a rural community.
Discussion of how the Poster Fulfills the Criteria: The poster will discuss the exchange across disciplines regarding the importance of data in public health, and the how social determinants of health manifests in clinical settings.