Project Objectives

Vision Screening, Glaucoma testing & annual collection of statistics on patients

Our Partner: Clinica Esperanza (clinicaesperanza.org) provides low/no-cost medical care to the people of Roatan. At the medical clinic and hospital, people can receive services from the walk-in medical clinic, women’s health center, pediatrics, birthing center, dental clinic including a laboratory and pharmacy. The clinic also provides outreach clinics, community health education programs, and school health screenings for vision and oral health.
The Clinic is located in Sandy Bay and all people are welcome. The Clinic treats approximately 80-100 patients in a typical day usually about 65% adults and 35% children. It operates five days per week, starting at 8:00am and finishes at 5:00pm. More than 3500 patients consider the Clinic to be their primary medical care provider. Thus far, more than 57,000 patients have been treated in the Clinic.

Due to the limited number of medical facilities available on the island of Roatan, patients come from all corners of the island and the mainland to seek treatment or medications. The Clinic provides a needed service to people who would otherwise likely not seek treatment due to costs and the crowded condition of the local public hospital.

Clinical Esperanza has partnered with the SRT program for several years and focuses primarily on ocular health.  Roatan has a significant population with the diagnosis of Glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness on the island, which results from damage to the optic nerve. Usually the irreversible damage is from increased pressure in the eye. The most common form, open-angle glaucoma, generally appears in middle age and seems to have a genetic component. In this type of glaucoma, vision loss is gradual. Our hope is to reduce the blindness by earlier detection of the disease through screenings with an iCare tonometer that will measure the eye’s intraocular pressure. All patients identified as having increased intraocular pressure through summer screening will be instructed to have further care with Clinica Esperanza, a local ophthalmologist or other healthcare facility. If on location, the students will support and be supervised by the local physician in the clinic.

Clinic Support Projects:

Dental Care in Children:

2022 Team members undertook a survey of dental care in children who visit the clinic.  The dental project should continue but it may be revised to gather additional data, potentially relating to school visits or health surveys of mothers in the waiting areas.   

Immunization Intervention Assessment:

Several years ago Duke students completed immunization surveys in the community, providing data that allowed Clinica Esperanza to begin providing immunizations to the local community.  An updated community survey at this time will be useful in determining if this intervention has had the anticipated outcome. Team members will collaborate with clinic staff in the spring semester prior to departure for Roatan to design the assessment and plan for a summer implementation and report.

Vision Screening:

Students will continue to perform Snelling chart vision screenings on students in the local schools between 3rd and 10th grade. This has been performed for the last five years and will continue this year, aggregating current and past demographic information to assess whether certain demographic characteristics are associated with vision problems.

Deliverables:

Final deliverables will be planned with site leadership but team members should expect to compile the data from the immunization survey, vision screening and glaucoma tests; complete preliminary analysis; identify prevalence patterns or additional issues emerging from these screening processes and create reports as needed for clinic use.

In addition there will be time to do volunteer work in the community close to the clinic working with children as tutors, helping with English or homework, playing sports with the children at a local school or Sol Foundation (non-profit).

Project Selection Criteria

The ideal student volunteer is someone interested in a career in health promotion, a working knowledge of at least intermediate Spanish and previous international living experience.

Project Application Process

Students must fill out and submit a project application, CV and recent transcript to GH-Education@duke.edu by October 14, 2022 at 5pm ET. Applications open September 29. Students may apply to no more than two project opportunities and a separate application must be completed for each SRT project site.  Program interviews are scheduled to take place between October 31 and November 9. Any questions regarding the application, interview dates or general project information should be directed to Lysa MacKeen.

Students selected for participation in the SRT program will also need to complete the application through volunteer@clinicaesperanza.org.