Grace Children’s Hospital Takes Its Pediatric TB Care to International Stage

This year, the Nursing Education Committee (NEC) of Grace Children's Hospital (GCH) brought attention to pediatric tuberculosis care in Haiti through presentations at two major international nursing conferences, demonstrating the importance of sharing clinical work from Grace Children’s Hospital with the global health community.

What was the background of these presentations?

The NEC wanted to gain a better understanding of what pediatric TB looked like in a cohort of children receiving care at GCH. Under the direction of Jocelyne Arnoux (Chief Nursing Officer at GCH), and with the approval of the GCH National Director (Dr. Bijoux), two GCH nurses -  Sudejyne Boyer and Dyana Calixte, gathered data on 2023 pediatric TB cases at GCH. The NEC then analyzed the findings during their weekly online meetings to prepare and submit their findings to various nursing conferences.

NEC members—Becky Baird, Dr. Ellen L. Palmer, and Dr. Margarett Alexandre (pictured below)—presented findings on the 32 pediatric tuberculosis cases at the 30th International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress in Helsinki, Finland and the 36th Sigma International Research Congress in Seattle, WA.

Why Sharing Matters

By presenting these findings at international conferences and archiving the work in the Sigma Repository—a free literature database accessible to researchers worldwide—GCH is contributing essential data to the global knowledge base. This is important for:

• Advancing Clinical Knowledge: Real-world data from places like Haiti can help clinicians worldwide better recognize and manage the disease.
• Informing Global Health Policy: Amplifying the voices and work of Haitian healthcare providers ensures that global health policy conversations include the Haitian perspective, as the country faces a high incidence rate of TB.
• Inspiring Support: Sharing GCH's work highlights the hospital's capabilities and showcases the need for continued support.

After these conferences, the NEC is working to continue to highlight the exceptional work that is being done at GCH in order to help contribute to pediatric care worldwide.

Did you know?

Haiti faces the highest TB rate in the Western Hemisphere—149 cases per 100,000 people in 2023. According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis surpassed COVID-19 as the leading infectious disease killer in 2023. Worldwide, an estimated 1.25 million children and young adolescents fell ill with TB in 2022, with 47% of cases occurring in children under age five.