Un programa de saneamiento ambiental como medio de adiestrar personal : Escuela de Salud Pública de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Abstract

A new type of field practice which is being carried out by the School of Public Health of the National University of Colombia as part of a training program for health visitors and inspectors, is described and an evaluation is made of the results. The reasons for the change, as well as the changes made, are indicated. An outline is given of the planning and execution of these practical exercises, which consist essentially of an environmental sanitation program conducted by the students, under teacher supervision, and with the participation of the community benefited. The results are analyzed from the teaching viewpoint, and in relation to the construction of sanitary works. A comparison is made between the costs and the proportion of program goals attained. Finally, after some general comments the following main conclusions are drawn: 1. The program succeeded in fully achieving all the teaching objectives. 2. The objectives were achieved to a satisfactory degree, as can be seen by the following percentages attained: a. Water supply, 62.4 percent of the proposed objective; b. Sewage disposal, 74.8 percent as compared with the proposed 80 percent; c. Garbage disposal, 100 percent of the objective established; d. Literacy, 75 percent of the proposed goal. 3. The communities covered by this program were organized in such manner that they may be expected to continue to work independently toward their own improvement. 4. Program expenditures for both teaching and application are low. 5. The experiment in concentrating the resources on limited