Trinidad and Tobago Health Sciences Initiative

Overview

The Trinidad and Tobago Health Sciences Initiative is a collaboration between the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Johns Hopkins Medicine International, the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago’s ministries of Health and of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, and several other government ministries and local organizations aimed at improving the health care sector through:

• Educational collaborations
• Clinical centers of excellence
• Research institutes
• Infrastructure and management

Launched in 2007, current TTHSI programs include:

• Executive-style master’s in health administration program at the University of Trinidad and Tobago to enhance the skills of current public and private sector health care managers
• Cardiology training and education program to train local clinicians in cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, echocardiography and preventive medicine
• Herbal medicine research institute to conduct rigorous clinical research on local herbs for the treatment of common ailments
• Master plan to create new and renovated government hospitals on the twin islands

About Our Agreement

Under the agreement signed in 2005, Johns Hopkins experts have contributed by:

• Conducting assessments of various aspects of the Trinidad and Tobago health system
• Assisting in identifying an experienced architectural partner
• Developing a curriculum in line with accreditation requirements for the master’s in health administration program
• Consulting on the development of phytochemistry and clinical chemistry laboratories for future in-country research
• Participating in speaking engagements on topics ranging from clinical research to hearing and speech impairment in children
• Mentoring local physicians in creating rigorous and ethically sound clinical research protocols

Points of Pride

• First cohort completed the new MHA curriculum and graduated from the University of Trinidad and Tobago (2010)
• Trinidad and Tobago internists began 24 months of comprehensive cardiology
• Implementation of pilot for Telewatch, a home hypertension management program
• Developed a Point-of-Care Information Technology (POC-IT) guide that covers more than 160 topics, from drug complications to nutrition, including locally specific information
• Diabetes outreach program to facilitate coordinated care and reduce the burden of disease and its compli­cations; the program includes health assessments with instant results—more than 1,000 health assessments conducted so far, next goal is to add retinal examina­tions to better triage patients with vision problems

What Our Affiliate Says

"The Trinidad and Tobago Health Sciences Initiative will revolutionize the health sector in keeping with the vision of what the Government shares, of a people empowered to live healthier and more productive, happier and longer lives."

— John Rahael, former minister of health, Trinidad and Tobago