Funded by the MacMillan Center, stakeholders convene at Yale on January 16 and 17 to develop a regional approach to reducing morbidity and mortality after natural disasters in the Caribbean. This unique collaboration between the Yale Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN), Yale School of Forestry, Yale School of Public Health Center for Climate Change and Health, the Pan American Health Organization, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, and Eastern Caribbean Community focuses on improving the management of chronic diseases in the setting of natural disasters. Using principles of implementation science the group will develop an implementation strategy for deploying non-communicable disease emergency kits in the setting of a natural disaster in the region. The team will pilot the plan first in the islands of Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, and St. Vincent’s & Grenadines; ministry of health representatives from each of the 3 islands will be present at the meeting. The goal is to develop generalizable knowledge that can inform a similar strategy in other islands in the region.
Submitted by Alyssa Cruz on January 22, 2020