SIHI LAC Honduras Node at Instituto de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitología Antonio Vidal (IAV)

Our vision is to become a reference Institute for research and training of human resources in surveillance, prevention and control of infectious diseases and parasitology with national and international projection, whose activities are integrated into health actions that improve human health.

SIHI LAC Honduras Node is hosted at the Instituto de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitología Antonio Vidal (IAV). The IAV is a private non-profit foundation committed to the development and promotion of research, training and consultation activities on infectious diseases and parasitology, assisting government and university institutions in their healthcare, administrative, technical, and teaching functions, to contribute to clinical-epidemiological diagnosis, management, control, and prevention of these diseases and to improve the health of affected populations.

OUR ACTIVITIES

Innovation Identification Call

The collaboration with LAC and Honduras hub was launched on May 26th, 2021. In June, July, August and September, we followed up and provided support to the call in terms of communications in Spanish, publications on Facebook and first filter of the evaluation process. In total, we received 128 applications from 17 countries of the LAC region, 106 of which were eligible for the evaluation phase. From Central America and Dominican Republic, we received 13 applications from four different countries. With this call we achieved a great reach at regional level.

Learn more about these calls here:

https://socialinnovationinhealth.org/identifying-innovations-lac/

Social Innovation in Honduras

In 2017, SIHI LAC hosted a open call to identify social innovations for health in Central America and the Caribbean. During this call, the group MosquitiaMed from Honduras was identified.

Read the Mosquitiamed case study at https://socialinnovationinhealth.org/case-studies/mosquitiamed/

MosquitiaMed Case Insights

Communities are able to learn and solve health problems of low complexity, avoiding unnecessary travel and complications arising from not doing so. MosquitiaMed provides leaders, community authorities and residents with basic knowledge of primary health care and health posts with inputs for assistance work. These contributions recognize traditional medicine as an opportunity to promote health empowerment among the communities of Gracias a Dios.
MosquitiaMed is a diverse venture based on three elements: health education, primary health care and telemedicine that articulates, through volunteerism, different individual and institutional actors to provide assistance to the inhabitants of La Mosquitia in needs related to health access. Many cases demand a comprehensive and holistic health model to make this innovative approach effective.
The willingness of a group of well-meaning and highly motivated young doctors is not enough to address the multiple health needs of the people of Gracias a Dios. The state should take charge by working in partnership with other institutions that already have presence in the area, such as Goal and Norman I Love Foundations among others, but also with initiatives that, like MosquitiaMed, want to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities.

Education

From July 26th to 28th, we developed a 20-hour virtual workshop about community-based methodologies, in alliance with the SIHI LAC Hub, in the framework of the UNAH annual scientific event named Jornada Científica/Congress of Health Sciences Research, which organized its 28th and 15th editions in 2021, respectively.

We had the participation of 18 people interested in social transformation in health (12 from Honduras and six from Colombia). It specifically addressed the theoretical bases and methodological principles of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), Participatory Action Research (PAR), and Design Thinking. This training provided important knowledge and tools to strengthen capacities in participatory approaches to research, which are key to research in social innovation in health.

Participation in Global Pilot of Community Engagement Learning Package and Workshop

During the month of August 2021, two members of the LAC (one as an observer) and two members of the Honduras Hub participated in the pilot of the Community Engagement workshop and learning package, led by SIHI Philippines Hub, in order to evaluate and provide feedback to this project, which aims to contribute to build capacity on and understand effective community engagement practices. The pilot included asynchronous training and synchronous sessions. The workshop was attended by practitioners from Colombia, Honduras, Malawi and Nigeria, as well as observers from WHO and the various project partners. This project is very valuable to SIHI LAC and our hub as it is an opportunity to build capacity in this area, as well as align perfect with our efforts to promote and strengthen capacities on community-based participatory research methodologies in the LAC region.

The Implementation Research MOOC (massive open online course) in Spanish finished in July 2021.

In this session, one member of the Honduras Hub participated as facilitator, providing good opportunities to review and discuss the relationship between implementation research and social innovation for health. This time, 649 participants from the region participated, 308 of whom are professionals from Central America and the Caribbean.

SIH Promotion and Advocacy

Participation in the podcast “Just for a Change”

Participation in the podcast Just for a Change powered by the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship South Africa. Episode: “Change makers in the global South – collaboration and innovation in the health sector”; available here.

Virtual Café Webinar

The Virtual Café is a bimonthly webinar organized by the Social Innovation in Health Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean (SIHI LAC Hub). The main objective is to bring together people and institutions from different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to exchange ideas and experiences of social innovation in health, and to generate a collective learning space around the topic and other related topics such as community health, digital health, crowdfunding, community-based methodologies, among others. SIHI Honduras Hub collaborates in its dissemination especially in the Central America and Dominican Republic region, sometimes in the moderation chat and sometimes with presentations.

You can watch all our Virtual Coffee webinars here

Forging Partnerships for Research and Innovation

We are in the process to submit a request to form the Research and Social Innovation for Health Research Group to the UNAH Scientific Research and Technological Direction, who promotes the creation of thematic research groups. The research group will be integrated for SIHI Honduras, relevant stakeholders, and international members such as CIDEIM Columbia.

Events

Conference “Community-based participatory research and its contributions to social innovation in health”, presented at UNAH annual scientific event Jornada Científica. Conference developed by Diana Castro, as part of the “XXVIII Jornada Científica” / XV Congress of Health Sciences Research at UNAH – highlighting the connection between CBPR and SIH See more

DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM

Strengthening Research Ethics Governance

On November 2020 to March 2021, SIHI Honduras was involved in a research ethics governance and oversight project, which includes an accelerated research review pathways approach to ethical and regulatory review and community engagement. The project involves multiple partners from the region, including the Central American and the Caribbean IRB Network (http://redceih.bvs.hn/), universities, national ethics commissions and SE COMISCA (Executive Secretary of the Council of Ministries of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic). Additional information is available at https://coronavirus.tghn.org/regional-response/goetica/(English) and https://goetica.etikos.do/ (Spanish).

Publications and scientific dissemination

Publications and scientific dissemination
• The WHO Community Engagement Package: Strengthening an Inclusive Global Public Health Approach. Omoleke, S.A., Bayugo, Y.V., Oyene, U.E., Abrahams, J., Gobat, N., Good, S., Manandhar, M., Elfeky, S., Hernandez Bonilla, A.G., Valentine, N., Alger, J., Huda, Q., Mustafa, S., Echavarria, M.I., Rakesh, A., Warren, T., Lapitan, J.M., Mier-Alpano, J.D., Spencer-Walters, D., Del Pilar Labarda, M., Mihut, M., Bhatiasevi, A., Ekwunife, O.I.
International Journal of Epidemiology and Health Sciences.

• “Social Innovation in Health Monitoring & Evaluation Framework”. TDR/SIHI Global/SESH/ PAHO/SIHI LAC/Honduras Hub.

UNAH virtual space Café Presencia

Call to identify solutions during the pandemics

Published June 7, 2021

UNAH Newspaper Presencia Universitaria

Open call to present solutions that have improved health during the pandemics (Abren convocatoria para presentar soluciones que hayan mejorado la salud durante la pandemia)

Published June 8, 2021

Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas UNAH

Jornada Científica Supplement

ABOUT US

Read Biography

Dr. Alger is the executive director of Instituto Antonio Vidal. She is a parasitologist working at the Department of Clinical Laboratory, University Hospital, since 1997. She combines clinical laboratory work, teaching, and research activities with mentoring health personnel, students and faculty members performing health research, thereby building interdisciplinary bridges, promoting international collaboration, and networking to advance scientific research in Honduras.

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Dr. Rodas is a general practitioner. She has 8 years of experience in the comprehensive management and research of endocrinological diseases, addressing patients and their families. She has experience before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in inter-institutional relations strengthening the management and execution of programmatic and research institutional projects with a diversity of national and international stakeholders, including aspects of telemedicine and coordination with MosquitiaMed initiative.

Dr. Rodas has experience in the comprehensive management and research of endocrinological diseases, addressing patients and their families. She has experience before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in inter-institutional relations strengthening the management and execution of institutional programmatic and research projects with a diversity of national and international stakeholders. She has been a member of the SIHI LAC Honduras Node since January 2023.

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Dr. Cáceres works since March 2021 at the Hospital Escuela. She has experience in the participatory organization at the level of health services at the University Hospital during the critical periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the coordination of general practitioners and organization of practical workshops on mechanical ventilation for hospitals in the national network, highlighting the participation of stakeholders, including groups such as MosquitiaMed. She has special training in food and nutritional security and in health self-care.

Dr. Cáceres has experience in the comprehensive management and research of endocrinological diseases, addressing patients and their families. She has experience before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in inter-institutional relations strengthening the management and execution of institutional programmatic and research projects with a diversity of national and international stakeholders. She has been a member of the SIHI LAC Honduras Node since January 2023.

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MSc Lacayo is a registered nurse and has a Master’s Degree on Human Resources Management. She has professional experience as clinical nurse in hospital settings, including supervision and support to the nursing staff, care and performance of procedures for critical patients and transfers of critical patients, among other work experiences. She is faculty at the Nursing Department and currently at the Postgraduate Program.

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MSc Ney has a BS degree on Sociology and a master’s degree on Gender and Culture. She is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at UNAH. Graduated from a sociology degree. She has experience in conducting and supporting consultancies on sexual and reproductive health issues; violence against women and girls; inclusive development and mainstreaming of the gender approaching public policies. Current research topics: gender-based violence in the university, migration, human trafficking, and social innovation in health with a gender perspective.

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Mrs. Méndez is administrator of the Nursing Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Medical Sciences UNAH. She has experience as an administrative consultant with emphasis on health and academic sectors, preparation of a variety of internal administrative documents that include terms of reference, labor contracts, justification, declaration of economic relations, among others.

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Dr. Cárcamo is a physician and has a Master’s Degree on Epidemiology with emphasis on Implementation Research. Currently she is taking a Diploma on Management and Administration of Hospital Services. She has experience working providing primary care level. Since 2020 she has participated as a research assistant in the projects such as “Strengthening research ethics governance and regulatory oversight in Central America and the Dominican Republic in response to the COVID-19 pandemic”, GoEtiCA Project, December 2020 – April 2021; “Community Engagement Package”, January – May 2021. She combines consulting work for the UNAH Epidemiology Master Program with independent teaching, research and health research assistance activities. She collaborates with the SIHI Honduras Node since January 2021.

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Dr. Maradiaga is the Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Artificial Intelligence for Global Health project at The Global Health Network, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. He serves as a research assistant at the Instituto Antonio Vidal where he collaborates with the communication of TGHN LAC Honduras projects and the SIHI LAC Honduras Node. He is currently board certified in the United States and will be pursuing a residency in Internal Medicine.

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Dr. Martínez-Valladares has specialized in the fields of marketing and international business, strategic communication and social responsibility, digital transformation and project management, innovation in social responsibility and sustainability. She teaches graduate courses at Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana in Honduras and undergraduate courses at Universidad Anáhuac México. She is also a member of the Association of Women in Science for Developing Countries (OWSD) of UNESCO, as well as the Anahuac Research Network on University Social Responsibility (RIARSU), the Diplocientific Network, the IUCN Network and 4pi. He has experience in the financial sector and working with the third sector. Consultant at ReinventaRSE, he was the Foundation’s representative for climate change initiatives at the 27th Conference of the Parties. Its lines of research encompass issues of sustainable development, partnerships, gender and innovation and social responsibility.

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Stay in touch

CONTACT US

If you are interested to become part of SIHI Honduras or join our activities, please contact:

Jackeline Alger, MD, PhD

Instituto de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitología Antonio Vidal