THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST INDIES SCHOOL OF NURSING, MONA (UWISON)

WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Development in the Caribbean

DIRECTORS

Dawn Munroe

Eulalia Kahwa

STAFF

Cynthia Pitter

Pauline Anderson Johnson

Deveree Stewart

Mauvette Waite

Sandra Chisholm-Ford

Monique Lynch

TERMS OF REFERENCE

At PAHO/WHO’s request the institution will support PAHO/WHO in developing and supporting nursing and midwifery capacity building activities.

Upon PAHO/WHO’s request and under its leadership the institution will support PAHO/WHO to strengthen the development of a research culture and collaboration in nursing and midwifery in the Caribbean region and internationally.

WEBSITE

This institution is a member of the
WHOCC MIDWIFERY NETWORK

ANNUAL REPORT 2021

The University of the West Indies Crest

    • To support PAHO/WHO in assessing and describing the nursing research situation in the Caribbean, an article was developed by the UWI School of Nursing, Mona WHOCC in collaboration with a team from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing documenting the research output of nurses and midwives in the Caribbean and make recommendations for increasing research output by nurses and midwives. The article was submitted to the journal for review and publication.
    • To support PAHO/WHO in developing capacity for nursing and health research in the Caribbean, a research training and mentorship program designed to engage and empower faculty members to increase research output was implemented. Research hubs were established following a process of assessment and mapping of research interests, skills of faculty members and resources available. Research hubs focusing on Chronic diseases, Mental Health, Maternal /Child Health and Midwifery studies, Clinical practice/ Management, Health Care Services, Life course studies, Teaching /Learning and Professionalism were established. Senior members of staff with research experience are serving as mentors and coaches for research hubs. Support structures for faculty members in PhD programs have also been established.
    • To Support PAHO/WHO in building capacity for Interprofessional Education among educators in CARICOM Countries, a survey was conducted among nurse educators from CARICOM Countries to determine training needs of nursing faculty regarding inter-professional education. The UWI School of Nursing, Mona hosted a One-day Virtual Inter-professional Education (IPE) Conference in collaboration with UWISON (St. Augustine), Duke University School of Nursing and the University of Illinois Chicago-College of Nursing on Friday, February 19, 2021.
    • A one-day Virtual Inter-professional Education (IPE) Conference.
    • The UWI School of Nursing, Mona WHOOCC collaborated with the Omega Kappa Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International to host a webinar under the theme “COVID-19 and Its Impact Across Nursing: Lessons Learnt and The Way Forward” On July 17, 2020.
    • The UWI School of Nursing, Mona WHOCC for the development of nursing and Midwifery in the Caribbean in collaboration with The UWI School of Nursing, St. Augustine WHO CC for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership hosted presentations on -“The Impact of COVID-19 on nursing education: Policy & progress”. – “The Jamaican perspective on COVID-19 and its impact on nurses and the public health system” On July 17, 2020
    • The UWI School of Nursing, Mona in collaboration with Masterpiece, Jamaica made a presentation on “Mental health and suicide awareness amidst COVID-19” on September 21, 2020. Participants were members of the public and health professionals.
    • The UWI School of Nursing, Mona facilitated a mental health symposium in recognition of World Mental Health Day on October 17, 2020 under the theme: Mental Health and You in a Pandemic. The audience included faith-based communities and health care workers. There were more than 100 participants present.
    • The UWI School of Nursing, Mona in collaboration with the Wellness and Wholeness Ministry (a faith-based organization) made a presentation to 70 participants on “Coping with COVID-19: A mental health perspective” On March 27, 2021.
    • The UWISON 3rd and 4th year Nursing Students demonstrated handwashing and other COVID-19 precautionary techniques and evaluated return demonstrations for the entire staff and student body of a Kindergarten Preparatory School in Kingston, Jamaica in January 2021. There were more than 40 participants present.
    • The UWISON Nursing Students Association created a video demonstrating handwashing during a global pandemic that has been widely disseminated on YouTube. They also created 2 flyers demonstrating safety precautions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

    • Our Centre is collaborating with a team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to develop an article describing the situation of nursing research and make recommendations for increasing research output by nurses in the Caribbean.

    • Our Centre is mandated by PAHO to build capacity of educators in CARICOM Countries to implement Interprofessional education as part of the Regional strategy for human resources for health and universal health coverage. We have conducted a survey among educators in CARICOM Countries to determine training needs of the faculty in terms of inter-professional education. A three-day training workshop on inter-professional curriculum development, implementation and evaluation will be held after needs assessment

    • A three-days training on inter-professional curriculum development, implementation and evaluation will be organized by our WHO CC and PAHO/WHO. The training will take place at the UWI School of Nursing, Mona. The objective of the training will be to develop capacities in Caribbean faculty to implement inter-professional education.
    • A four-week research internship program to train 12-15 nurses and midwives in the Caribbean in research methodology