Since Hurricane Mitch there have been many humanitarian efforts to provide health care to the poor and needy of Honduras. Unfortunately there is little information available regarding the specific health needs in this country. The purpose of this project was to analyze data collected during a recent mission trip to Honduras for trends in health symptoms, diagnoses and health care practices to assist in the planning of future trips. Health Intake forms were created by Drs. Holcomb and Crigger and were filled out by 500 patients at the time of their visit to both rural and urban clinics. The forms included information on the patient's health history, current symptoms, diagnosis and treatment as well as their health habits and living conditions that might affect their health. Descriptive statistics revealed the clinic population to be primarily women and children. The most common presenting symptoms were gastrointestinal, non specific (i.e. fever, malaise . .. ) and pulmonary. Common diagnoses included intestinal parasites, arthritis and upper respiratory infections. The most frequently prescribed medications were over the counter medications (i.e. vitamins, and Tylenol) as well as antibiotics. Chi-square analysis revealed few differences between the urban and rural populations. It was discovered that many of the population continue to drink unpurified tap water, which may contribute to their gastrointestinal complaints and the frequent occurrence of intestinal parasites.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in 1979 declared a global goal of, "Health for all by the year 2000." Lesser-developed countries, including Honduras, struggle to meet the most basic health needs of their people. Problems of meeting health care needs in Honduras include uneven distribution of health services, inadequate numbers of trained health care workers, and lack or awareness of those in need of healthcare. Natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch, which struck Honduras in November of 1998, have exacerbated the problems. The purpose of this educational project was to develop, implement, and evaluate an educational program taught by nurses to lay community health care workers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. These lay health workers will be called 'Community Health Promotores' (CHP) The CHPs will voluntarily work with their neighbors to improve health promotion, increase self care abilities for minor health problems, monitor growth in children and identify serious health problems for referral to their nurse of physician supervisor. The CHP will assist to improve the self-care abilities of community members and finding those in need of health care. An instructional manual includes information on nutrition, hand-washing, first aide, disease states (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, diarrhea, problems common in pregnancy and childhood, mental health), and skills in measuring blood pressure, temperature, pulse and respiration. Teaching strategies used in this project and pre and post course evaluation are discussed. The initial class was offered in March 1999. Eleven students completed the course and are volunteering in their communities.