by Donella Hosten
Health Care professionals from throughout the Caribbean came together for a 2-day workshop held in Grenada on 11 and 12 January 2017, at the Grenada Youth Centre.
This sub-regional training workshop is part of an OECS project which is funded by Global Fund, and was organised by Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC), and GrenCHAP — a local non-governmental organisation which advocates for Sexual & Reproductive Health and Human Rights.
Lead facilitator of the Workshop, Dr Hazel DaBreo, spoke to the participants about the need to be professional, empathetic and non-judgmental when attending to vulnerable and marginalised populations, such as PLHIV (people living with HIV), MSM (men who have sex with men), transgender persons, and sex workers.
As a psychotherapist and in order to actively involve the participants, Dr Da Breo created psycho-social dramas in which participants role-played a number of scenarios that medical personnel could face.
Topics covered included reflexive language, treating persons living with HIV, sexual behaviour, and strengthening of services provided by medical professionals.
One of the participants who runs a laboratory in a neighbouring island emphasized on the extra effort needed to bring the service to vulnerable populations.
At the end of the workshop, the participants expressed their gratitude for a “much needed and timely workshop.”
The particpants are expected to be used as resource persons during national training sessions to be held in their respective countries within the next 3 years.
