Research Day 2018

On November 30th 2018, the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) hosted its second annual Research Day at The Government Campus on Richmond Street. The purpose of research day was to encourage practice based research in healthcare delivery, provide a forum where staff including physicians, nurses and medical students could present their research and to foster the development of research and presentation skills. The theme of this year’s Research Day was “Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)”. The day featured fifty-one (51) poster presentations and six (6) oral presentations. A panel of experts were selected for judging the presentations including Dr Stacey Chamely, Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association; Dr Adelle Chang-On, Director, Board of Directors, NWRHA; Dr Maria Bartholomew, Director, North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA); Professor S. Teelucksingh, Professor of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI) and Dr David Bratt, Paediatrician.

The event was kicked off with opening remarks from Chairman of NWRHA Ms Lisa Agard who emphasized the importance of events like these which allows for collaboration between interdisciplinary stakeholders both within and external to the NWRHA. Dr Erica Wheeler also spoke on behalf of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO). Mrs Wheeler stated that not only healthcare sector suffers the effects of NCDs but also the economy as a lot of resources has to be allocated to treatments. She stated that a shift of focus is needed from disease to people centred approaches and that research is critical so that cost effective NCD prevention can be developed. She also stressed that not just the health sector, but other sectors as well needs to become involved in NCD prevention. Dr Ian Ho-A-Shu, Health Senior Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) also spoke underlining that new scientific evidence is needed locally as he mentioned that IDB is partnering with the Ministry of Health (MOH) in providing a Strategic Plan for Prevention and Control of NCDs. Dr Harry Smith represented the honourable Terrance Deyalsingh, Minister of Health and he linked the high prevalence of NCDs to unhealthy lifestyles. He recommended that it’s not only necessary to provide information on healthy living to the public but to formulate plans which will encourage adaptation to such a lifestyle.

Professor S. Teelucksingh, Professor of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI) delivered his featured speech on “Diabetes” and immediately captivated the audience sharing data collected by his team. His data exhibited how factors like race, religion, body size, body shape and gender can influence the health of the individual.  He recommended that all pregnant women should be tested for hypoglycaemia since elevated blood sugar in pregnant women leads to complications for both the mother and baby.

Dr David Bratt’s was the second featured speaker and his speech focused on childhood obesity. His research suggested that obesity was mostly caused due to environmental factors. His suggestion for combatting obesity starts in the womb where the mother’s weight and sugar needs to be monitored during pregnancy. After birth, he advises that women should breastfeed for nine months after which they can move to real/unprocessed food. He attributed the prevalence of obesity to a lack in education especially among mothers.

An expert panel discussion was conducted on prostate cancer screening and early detection in the Caribbean. Members of the panel included Dr Dylan Narinesingh, Director of Health, NWRHA; Dr Anesa Ahamad, Radiation, Oncology, University of Miami; Dr Lester Goetz- Consultant and Lecturer of Urology, Department of Surgery, UWI, St Agustine and Dr Kirk Gooden, Department of Urology, Port of Spain General Hospital. Some of the issues highlighted during the discussion were lack of research data specific to Africans; the long periods of waiting time between screening and treatment and the late detection due to a lack of awareness.

Our 2018 Research Day Winners