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| Duarte Avenue, Santo Domingo Photo by Alfredo Maiquez for Lonely Planet. |
During the spring of 2008, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend my sabbatical in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This opportunity was possible due to a Fulbright lecture/research grant. The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 with the aim of increasing understanding between people from the United States and other countries through the exchange of people, knowledge and skills. The program, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, provides funding for students, scholars and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools in over 150 countries worldwide.
My lecturer assignment consisted of teaching a course on health promotion in the medical school at Iberoamerican University (Universidad Iberoamericana-UNIBE) in Santo Domingo. My research endeavors included a study on health policies for the prevention of childhood diabesity. Diabesity is a term used to describe the association between obesity and type 2 Diabetes (Astrup & Finer, 2000). The study conducted involved a review of 102 clinical charts, as well as focus and nominal groups with 39 health care providers at a tertiary level hospital specializing in nutrition, diabetes and endocrinology in Santo Domingo (Instituto Nacional de Diabetes, Endocrinologia y Nutricion). The results of this study will be soon presented in an article submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, as well as at national and international public health conferences.
My sabbatical in the Dominican Republic not only was a very enriching academic experience, but it was also an unforgettable cultural one. If you are interested in obtaining additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at hpinzonp@csufresno.edu.
By Helda Pinzon-Perez, PhD, RN, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Health Science
California State University, Fresno