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CICAD Schools of Nursing Project on Prevention of Drug Use and Abuse, Social Integration, and Health Promotion in Latin America and the Caribbean |
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Presentation |
Background
National governments throughout the Western hemisphere increasingly emphasize measures to reduce the demand for illicit drugs. Since 1996, the CICAD Anti-Drug Strategy in the Hemisphere has complemented this by addressing substance abuse, in particular the educating professionals to work in demand reduction. In 1997, with financial support from the Government of Japan, and later with additional support from the Governments of the United States and Canada, CICAD initiated a pilot project with selected Schools of Nursing in Latin America on prevention of drug use and abuse, social integration, and health promotion. This pioneer venture stands out, since there are few nursing schools in industrialized or less industrialized countries that address the topic of drugs in the curricula of nursing education.
Nurses are key agents to work toward change and transformation with individuals, families and communities. Moreover, nurses are now key players in designing and implementing health promotion and prevention programs in various interdisciplinary fields. Nurses form the largest work force in the health field. They are the professionals most in contact with communities and are able to recognize where there is a drug problem. Nurses bring new leaderships roles to the CICAD Demand Reduction Program; they bring a critical holistic international health perspective to the study of the drug phenomenon, and the health promotion approach to individuals, family, community, and society.
Goal
To create a cadre of nursing professionals with scientific knowledge and technical skills to work on drug demand reduction in the prevention of drug use and abuse, social integration, and health promotion, in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Objectives
To educate nurses on drug issues and related problems from an international health perspective.
To develop regional and international capacity-building research programs for nurses in Latin America.
To create partnerships with universities in Canada, the United States, and Brazil, to implement the research capacity building programs.
To develop undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula with content on the drug phenomenon.
To implement extension programs at community level on drug issues for specific population groups.
To create centers led by nurses with activities that emphasize prevention of use and abuse of drugs, social integration, and health promotion of individuals, families, and community.
To implement pilot, national, transnational, and multi-centric research studies on drug issues according to nursing research priorities for drug demand reduction in Latin America.
To create a partnership with the Pan America Heath Organization (PAHO), Human Resources Program to expand and implement, within the Schools of Public Health, the international and global health perspective regarding the drug phenomenon in education, practice and research in the public health field.
Universities and Schools of Nursing in Latin America
National
University of Cordoba
National
University of Colombia
University
of Carabobo
University
Mayor de San Andres
University
of Guayaquil
University
Cayetano Heredia
State
University of Rio de Janeiro
Federal
University of Santa Catarina
University
of Sao Paulo
University
of Nuevo Leon
University
of Concepcion
Autonomous University of Queretaro/School of Nursing, Queretaro/Mexico
University of Guanajuato/School of Nursing and Obstetrics of Celaya/Guanajuato/Mexico
National University of Rosario/School of Nursing/Cordoba/ Argentina
National Autonomous University of Honduras/Nursing Department/Tegucigalpa/Honduras
Conceptual Framework
The CICAD Schools of Nursing Project uses as its theoretical framework the “Critical-Holistic International Health Model”. The model provides guidelines for activities in prevention of drug use and abuse, social integration, and health promotion in Latin America. This model brings a dialectical approach to analyze of the drug phenomenon in the Americas, including the macro and micro dimensions of the drug phenomenon.
Structure
The general and administrative aspects of the project are within Drug Demand Reduction Program, under the responsibility of the Director of the Demand Reduction Program and the International Coordinator.
Basic Components
The basic components of the project are:
(i) Education:
Organize faculty training seminars and workshops on drug issues and related problems.
Develop undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula on drug issues.
Implement Regional and International research Capacity Building for Latin American nursing faculty with the University of Alberta/Canada; the University of Maryland/US; and the University of Sao Paulo/Brazil.
(ii) Extension:
Organize outreach community education programs for specific population groups.
Create centers led by nurses on the prevention of drug use and abuse, social integration, and health promotion.
(iii) Research:
Implement pilot studies on drug issues.
Develop national and transnational nursing studies in drug issues and related problems
Implement multi-centric research studies according to nursing research priorities for demand reduction.
Implementation
There were six steps in the CICAD Schools of nursing project for Phases I and II:
(i) Socialization of the project at Schools of Nursing and Universities.
(ii) Provide educational and training programs for faculty on drug-related issues.
(iii) Develop nursing curricula on drug issues and related problems.
(iv) Implement nursing curricula on drug issues and related problems.
(v) Implement extension programs and research projects on drug issues.
(vi) Develop and implement an evaluation and monitoring system, for the nursing program and graduate
professionals.