WORKSHOP ON “MANAGEMENT OF COMPLEX HUMANITARIAN
EMERGENCIES: FOCUS ON CHILDREN
AND FAMILIES (MCHE-FOC)” KHON KAEN, THAILAND
Pairojkul
S,1 Suppakhunpinyo C,1
Jetsrisuparb J,1 Siripul P,2 Pajanasoontorn N.3
Depts of 1Pediatrics
and 3Psychiatry, Fac of Medicine and 2Dept of
Maternal and Child Health, Fac of Nursing, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen,
Thailand
Objective:
The MCHE-FOC workshop was made possible by a partnership between
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), USA and Khon Kaen University (KKU),
Thailand. The purpose of the
partnership and associated workshop was to catalyze the development
regional MCHE training centers operating with an emphasis on the special
needs of children and women.
Methods: A two-day workshop for the training
of facilitators preceded the main workshop so that key aspects could be
reviewed, revised and rehearsed.
The MCHE-FOC workshop itself comprised 25 lectures which included
audio-visual presentations.
After each lecture participants were divided into small groups where
they read and worked through the relevant part of a multi-phased case
designed to accompany the lectures.
The small groups used an adaptation of problem-based learning (PBL).
Results: The 30 participants in the workshop
included: 10 from Khon Kaen,
12 from around Thailand, 3 from Indonesia, 3 from Lao PDR, 1 from India,
and 1 from Vietnam. A majority
(59%) of the of the participants felt the workshop was useful and
practicable, while 41% felt it informative. Three quarters (76%) of the participants felt the
PBL-process of going through the case histories inculcated the lecture
principles. On a scale of 1 to
5 (poor to best), the participants’ confidence to help in a CHE situation
after the training averaged 3.82.
Concerns or fears which persisted despite the training
included: security (35%), lack
of experience (24%), cross-cultural difficulties (18%), conflict resolution
(12%) and self-preparedness (12%).
Conclusion: Participants, facilitators and
guest speakers agreed that the workshop was stimulating and worthwhile—that
it was a profound learning experience and one that the CWRU and KKU team
should extend to others.