Haiti's rural Central Plateau: Baseline data from mobile health clinics

Introduction. George Washington Students for Haiti conducts mobile clinics in the Central Plateau of Haiti. Baseline health data for specific rural areas of Haiti are needed. Methods. Medical teams conducted mobile clinics in rural locations of Haiti's Central Plateau. Diagnoses, blood pressure, growth parameters, medications prescribed, and referrals were recorded. Results. Analyses included 865 patients. The leading pediatric diagnoses were acute respiratory infection, dermatitis, and abdominal pain. Using height for age, 22.9% of children were categorized as malnourished. The primary adult diagnoses were gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (23.3%), genitourinary disorders (15.9%), and cataracts (15.1%). Of all adults, 21.3% had hypertension Stage 1, and 15.4% had hypertension Stage 2. Discussion. This study provides valuable baseline health data for those providing medical care in the Central Plateau of Haiti. Effective health care targets include intestinal parasitic infections and malnourishment for children; hypertension and GERD for adults.