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Nurses promote health in Peru
Eleven senior nursing students spent their Spring Break
in a unique way this year. On February 28, they departed for the Augustinian
Mission in Chulucanas, Peru, representing a clinical option for their
Health Promotion course. Accompanying them were College of Nursing faculty,
Assistant Professors Elizabeth Keech, Karen McKenna, and Debbie Wimmer.
The trip was arranged with the assistance of Campus Ministry and Rev.
Richard Appicci, O.S.A., Director of the Augustinian Mission Office. Six
campus ministry students also went to Chulucanas for a service project
where they rebuilt the walls of a home of an elderly villager.
For the last four years, a contingent of nursing faculty
and students has visited the residents of Chulucanas to do health assessments
and teach wellness programs, as well as donate equipment and much-needed
vitamins. The College of Nursing sponsored its faculty, the students raised
funds to cover their costs, and members of the Villanova community also
generously helped support the College’s efforts.
Ahead of time, students worked with faculty to prepare
presentations that they gave to the local people and parish workers. Students,
using assessment data, created a teaching plan and developed flip charts
and other teaching tools. All presentations and teaching tools were translated
into Spanish, the latter left behind in Chulucanas so that teaching may
be ongoing.
Presentation topics given each afternoon were those determined
to have the greatest impact on health in Chulucanas. They included: hypertension;
stroke prevention; diabetes management; sexually transmitted diseases;
breast, cervical, and testicular cancer; sanitation and hygiene; and mother
and child nutrition. This year’s financial donations enabled the
group to bring a supply of prenatal vitamins with iron. They also brought
equipment such as blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes and continued
to educate parish workers in taking blood pressures. The parish workers
serve their communities as resources for health care needs.
In the mornings, students and faculty did home visits,
including one to a family with a mysterious disorder where each of the
adult siblings has lost portions of his or her limbs. They visited another
home where 4- and 5-year old sisters cared for their 2-year old twin brothers
in their home. When the local people were aware the nurses had arrived
they flocked into the streets seeking help—parents brought children
for an impromptu exam while elderly residents sought advice on arthritic
and other health complaints.
Debbie Wimmer, a pediatric nurse practitioner, joined
the trip this year to complete general pediatric assessments so that health
needs of children may be met on future trips. Wimmer was struck by the
undernourished children and their poor growth. One 4-year old child weighed
only 22 pounds. According to Wimmer, 50% of the children between 6 months
and 5 years of age in one Chulucanas neighborhood are below the 5th percentile
on growth charts.
Not only has this trip provided an international learning
and service opportunity, but the students expanded their nursing knowledge
and made a connection with a new culture and people. This dovetails with
the Augustinian mission of Villanova University and the mission of the
College of Nursing. The College is hoping to fund a second trip to Chulucanas
in June to expand its efforts. The faculty look forward to returning,
because as Karen McKenna puts it, “We get back much more than we
give.”
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