PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre Spotlight Series
Reference Number: BRA-59
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Education of Health Technicians
Institution: Escola Politécnica de Saúde Joaquim Venancio (EPSJV), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)
Reference Number: JAM-15
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Nursing and Midwifery Development in the Caribbean
Institution: School of Nursing (UWISON), University of the West Indies
Reference Number: USA-206
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership
Institution: School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
Reference Number: USA-283
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Research and Clinical Training in Health Promotion Nursing
Institution: School of Nursing, University of Michigan
Reference Number: USA-349
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Nursing Human Resources Development and Patient Safety
Institution: School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami
Reference Number: CAN-39
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC in Primary Care Nursing and Health Human Resources
Institution: School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University
Reference Number: MEX-19*
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for the Development of Professional Nursing
Institution: Escuela Nacional de Enfermería y Obstetricia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Reference Number: USA-241
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for International Nursing
Institution: School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
Reference Number: USA-297
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Nursing Information, Knowledge Management and Sharing
Institution: Center for Global nursing at the School of Nursing, John Hopkins University
Reference Number: CHI-19
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Health Services and Nursing Development for Noncommunicable Disease Care
Institution: Escuela de Enfermería Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Reference Number: USA-193
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for International Nursing Development in Primary Health Care
Institution: College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago
Reference Number: USA-272
Official Title: PAHO/WHO CC for Advanced Practice Nursing
Institution: School of Nursing, Columbia University
Category 4 (SP 14-19)
Outcome 7 (SP 20-25)
Dr. Silvia Cassiani, Advisor, Nursing and Allied Health Personnel Development, is the PAHO staff member who acts as the Region’s focal point and also has a supporting role to the WHO focal point to coordinate the collaboration between the institution and the Organization.
The main activities of these Centres include: (1) nursing training and education; (2) nursing research; (3) capacity building for human resources; and (4) interdisciplinary practice.
The Collaborating Centre at FIOCRUZ has produced the Work, Education and Health Journal, a training course focused on the Specialization in Teaching Professional Education in Health, as well as a number of publications. The Centre also reviews the health technical workforce in the Americas and Portuguese-speaking African countries to identify the occupational profile of such workers in these regions. Lastly, the Centre analyzed the training of health technicians in the Americas, a study coordinated by the Centre and various institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The Centre at McMaster University developed webinars for a Nursing Leadership Series to provide guidance regarding Advance Practice Nursing (APN) in the Americas, an initiative aligned with PAHO/WHO’s goal of universal access to health and health coverage. In 2015, the Centre hosted the Advanced Practice Nursing Summit to discuss the APN role in the promotion of primary health care in the Americas. Currently, staff at the Centre are developing and disseminating knowledge related to health human resource workforce planning in the Americas that can inform education, research and practice in the Caribbean.
The Centre at the Universidad Católica de Chile developed the 2nd edition Role of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) course with the support of Boston College to nine oncology nurse specialists. From this course, one of the specialists had the opportunity to be further trained at Boston College and is now working in Chile on implementing the NP role throughout the country. Currently, the Centre is working towards hosting the Pan-American Nursing Research Colloquium in November 2020.
The Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI) has supported the implementation of education and research within colleges and nurse associations across the Caribbean. In 2015, the Centre conducted a survey with a group of nurse leaders to determine the level of knowledge and elicit views regarding the use of simulation in nursing education in Jamaica. After the results were collected, a 3-day Improving Simulation Instructional Methods (iSIM) Research Course and 1-day iSIM Instructor Course were delivered to 34 healthcare professionals at the UWI School of Nursing in Jamaica. In addition to this training, UWI faculty in collaboration with the Centre at UAB conducted a 3 day Train the Trainer course on simulation methodology. Lastly, the team at the Centre have presented abstracts at the Annual Nursing and Midwifery Conference between 2015-2019.
The Centre at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México hosted the XV Pan-American Colloquium on Nursing Research that focused on the advances and activities contributing to universal access to health and health coverage in the Region. The Centre also published an article focused on assessing the situation of nursing education, including how it prepares nurses to contribute to the achievement of Universal Health in the Region. Lastly, the Centre collaborated with UAB to develop a three module course focused on improving the quality of nursing and midwifery education programs.
The Centre at the University of Illinois Chicago offered a 1-week training for community health nurses in Trinidad and Tobago on how to gather, appraise and use evidence to make health care practice improvements for patients with chronic conditions. The Centre also contributed to survey testing, implementation, data analysis and manuscript development for an article summarizing existing education in primary health care for nursing human resources for health in the Americas. Lastly, the Centre collaborated with other Collaborating Centres to develop and deliver a webinar series in English and Spanish on APN for nurses in the Region.
The Centre at the University of Pennsylvania created the PAHO/WHO webinar series: Building Research Excellence in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Nursing & Quality of Care Video Series – Theory, Evidence and Research Methodology. In 2018, the Centre distributed a survey in English and Spanish to 100+ representatives of Collaborating Centres and Schools of Nursing in the Region asking for priorities for doctoral nursing education development and nursing research leadership. The survey results informed the content for a two-day summit on doctoral education in nursing and aimed to advance the recommendations from PAHO/WHO’s report on Formación doctoral en enfermería en América Latina y el Caribe.
The Centre at the University of Miami in partnership with PAHO, the Colombian Association of Faculties of Nursing, and the Centre at UWI, has developed a 12-week online Nursing Leadership Course which presents a synthesis of recent nursing leadership knowledge. The course currently has 90,330 enrolled participants globally.
Dr. Cassiani notes this course is “the most successful collaboration and deliverable of the Collaborating Centres.”
This Centre also partnered with the PAHO/WHO Guyana Sub-regional office and Guyana’s Ministry of Health to lead a training program for a Nursing Education Certificate in Guyana. Lastly, the Centre developed online training in maternal health care delivery for the Latin American healthcare workforce.
The Centre at the University of Alabama, Birmingham conducted and published an analysis of Nursing Education in the Region of the Americas towards Primary Health Care and Universal Health. The Centre also created an online course on the Quality Improvement in Nursing and Midwifery Educational Program Outcomes. The course focuses on the foundations for quality nursing and midwifery education, instructional strategies for quality education and strategies to evaluate students and courses. Lastly, the school hosts the international visiting scholars’ program for 12 selected scholars from five countries (Chile, Jamaica, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago and Turkey).
The Centre at Columbia University conducted a comprehensive review of published APN competencies to develop a curriculum applicable to Latin American countries. In addition to the workplan, the Centre conducted a scoping review of existing clinical nursing and midwifery research conducted in the past 10 years in the Region.
The Centre at the University of Michigan has produced training material for country level trainers focused on maternal health strengthening in LAC with respect to HIV, STIs, and Zika virus. The Centre has also developed webinars on health promotion and chronic disease for nurses and midwives including: Healthcare to Go: mHealth and Noncommunicable Diseases and Diet and lifestyle interventions for Type 2 Diabetes. The Centre also convened a three day summit for 40 nursing leaders and educators from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and the United States to examine core competencies for the APN role, identify the curriculum, resources and strategies needed in LAC.
The Centre at John Hopkins University conducts trainings on violence against women throughout the Region including training of 27 personnel from 11 Caribbean countries. In addition to this, the Centre produces several publications that can be used by the Organization for added knowledge for the field of nursing.
Dr. Cassiani notes “overseeing these collaborative relationships has been a good experience as I get to see firsthand how the Centres are able to share their knowledge with each other.”
Webnotes such as these serve to inform on how CCs are contributing to the Organization’s priorities and mandates.
*CC expired