Institutionalizing community-focused maternal, newborn, and child health strategies to strengthen health systems: A new framework for the Sustainable Development Goal era.

BACKGROUND: Stronger health systems, with an emphasis on community-based primary health care, are required to help accelerate the pace of ending preventable maternal and child deaths as well as contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The success of the SDGs will require unprecedented coordination across sectors, including partnerships between public, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). To date, little attention has been paid to the distinct ways in which NGOs (both international and local) can partner with existing national government health systems to institutionalize community health strategies. DISCUSSION: In this paper, we propose a new conceptual framework that depicts three primary pathways through which NGOs can contribute to the institutionalization of community-focused maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) strategies to strengthen health systems at the district, national or global level. To illustrate the practical application of these three pathways, we present six illustrative cases from multiple NGOs and discuss the primary drivers of institutional change. In the first pathway, "learning for leverage," NGOs demonstrate the effectiveness of new innovations that can stimulate changes in the health system through adaptation of research into policy and practice. In the second pathway, "thought leadership," NGOs disseminate lessons learned to public and private partners through training, information sharing and collaborative learning. In the third pathway, "joint venturing," NGOs work in partnership with the government health system to demonstrate the efficacy of a project and use their collective voice to help guide decision-makers. In addition to these pathways, we present six key drivers that are critical for successful institutionalization: strategic responsiveness to national health priorities, partnership with policymakers and other stakeholders, community ownership and involvement, monitoring and use of data, diversification of financial resources, and longevity of efforts. CONCLUSION: With additional research, we propose that this framework can contribute to program planning and policy making of donors, governments, and the NGO community in the institutionalization of community health strategies.

Soccer and sexual health education: a promising approach for reducing adolescent births in Haiti.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of an innovative, integrative program in female sexual reproductive health (SRH) and soccer (or fútbol, in Haitian Creole) in rural Haiti by measuring the rate of births among program participants 15-19 years old and their nonparticipant peers. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study using 2006-2009 data from the computerized data-tracking system of the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization serving urban and rural populations in Haiti, was used to assess births among girls 15-19 years old who participated in HHF's GenNext program, a combination education-soccer program for youth, based on SRH classes HHF nurses and community workers had been conducting in Haiti for mothers, fathers, and youth; girl-centered health screenings; and an all-female summer soccer league, during 2006-2009 (n = 4 251). Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were carried out to assess differences in the rate of births among program participants according to their level of participation (SRH component only ("EDU") versus both the SRH and soccer components ("SO") compared to their village peers who did not participate. Hazard ratios (HRs) of birth rates were estimated using Cox regression analysis of childbearing data for the three different groups. RESULTS: In the multiple logistic regression analysis, only the girls in the "EDU" group had significantly fewer births than the nonparticipants after adjusting for confounders (odds ratio = 0.535; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.304, 0.940). The Cox regression analysis demonstrated that those in the EDU group (HR = 0.893; 95% CI = 0.802, 0.994) and to a greater degree those in the SO group (HR = 0.631; 95% CI = 0.558, 0.714) were significantly protected against childbearing between the ages of 15 and 19 years. CONCLUSIONS: HHF's GenNext program demonstrates the effectiveness of utilizing nurse educators, community mobilization, and youth participation in sports, education, and structured youth groups to promote and sustain health for adolescent girls and young women.

Fathers' beliefs about parenting and fathers' clubs to promote child health in rural Haiti.

Health care providers are challenged to use culturally appropriate, low-technology approaches to improve child health in resource-poor countries. Village fathers' clubs is one approach used in rural Haiti since 1994. Fathers meet regularly for health education and community-building activities. Our aim was to investigate parenting practices and beliefs among Haitian fathers of young children and to explore their views on fathers' clubs. We conducted semistructured interviews with 18 fathers. Themes identified were fathers' involvement in routine care of their children, the close partnerships of fathers and mothers in child care, fathers' responsibilities to their communities, and fathers' clubs as an important supportive institution for the Haitian fathers and their families. Rural Haitian fathers reported taking a very active role in the lives of their families and children. Increased involvement of fathers should be explored as a strategy to improve child health and survival in other parts of Haiti and throughout the world.

The impact of fathers' clubs on child health in rural Haiti.

In recognition of the important role that fathers play in the lives of young children in Haiti, a public health organization instituted fathers' clubs in 1994 as a strategy to improve the health outcomes of children. Fathers' clubs focus on child and family health education. To evaluate the effectiveness of fathers' clubs, we examined the health of children born in Haitian villages with and without active fathers' clubs and compared results for the two groups. The presence of a fathers' club in a child's birth village had a positive effect on vaccination status, growth monitoring, and vitamin A supplementation after we controlled for socioeconomic status, time, and the quality of the village health agent. Child weights and mortality were not affected by the fathers' clubs.

Protein-energy malnutrition during early childhood and periodontal disease in the permanent dentition of Haitian adolescents aged 12-19 years: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to examine whether exposure to early childhood protein-energy malnutrition (ECPEM) is related to worsened periodontal status in the permanent dentition during adolescence. DESIGN: A trained clinician/researcher examined the periodontal status of 96 persons aged 12-19 living in rural Haiti using WHO diagnostic criteria (Community Periodontal Index, WHO 1997). Malnutrition data of the study participants had been collected during the years 1988-1993 by a nongovernmental organization. We compared those who had been malnourished in early childhood, based on z-scores for anthropomorphic data collected during the first 5 years of life, with those who had not been malnourished, regarding mean Community Periodontal Index (CPI) score, controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and smoking. RESULTS: Overall, 57.3% of the participants demonstrated a CPI score of 3 or greater in at least one sextant. ECPEM was independently and positively related to mean CPI score, when controlling for sex and smoking. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of these young Haitians demonstrated CPI scores of 3 or greater, and ECPEM was related to poorer periodontal status, as measured by CPI, in the permanent dentition.

Effect of childhood malnutrition on salivary flow and pH.

INTRODUCTION: While protein-energy malnutrition may have multiple effects on oral tissues and subsequent disease development, reports of the effect of malnutrition on the human salivary glands are sparse. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of the effect of early childhood protein-energy malnutrition (EC-PEM) and adolescent nutritional status on salivary flow and pH was conducted with rural Haitian children, ages 11-19 years (n=1017). Malnutrition strata exposure cohorts were based on 1988-1996 weight-for-age records which covered the birth through 5-year-old period for all subjects. Then, data on current anthropometrical defined nutritional status categories, stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rates, and salivary pH were collected for the same subjects of 11-19 years old during field examinations in the summer of 2005. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used for the analyses. RESULTS: Stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rates were reduced at statistically significant levels in subjects who had experienced severe malnutrition in their early childhood or who had continuing nutrition stress which resulted in delayed growth, as measured at ages 11-19 years. Salivary pH demonstrated little clinically meaningful variability between malnourished and nonmalnourished groups. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to report of a continuing effect on diminished salivary gland function into adolescence as a result of early childhood malnutrition (EC-PEM) and suggests that exocrine glandular systems may be compromised for extended periods following EC-PEM, which may have important implications for the body's systemic antimicrobial defences.

Perceptions of pregnancy complications in Haiti.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of perceived pregnancy complications and associated factors. METHODS: During a census, 450 women identified themselves as pregnant and 388 were interviewed postpartum. RESULTS: Complications were reported by 58.6%. Bleeding post-delivery was the most frequent complication (42.5%), followed by great pain (33.8%), bleeding during pregnancy (20.1%), and fever post-delivery (11.6%). Prenatal care at either a dispensary or a clinic was associated with reports of bleeding during pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 9.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.71-48.00 and OR 7.58; 95% CI, 1.53-37.48, respectively). Women who visited a doctor were less likely to report bleeding during pregnancy (OR 0.20; 95% CI, 0.08-0.55) or fever post-delivery (P=0.015). Herb use was associated with reported bleeding during pregnancy (OR 2.22; 95% CI, 1.12-4.40) and great pain (OR 1.94; 95% CI, 1.05-3.58). CONCLUSION: The perceived pregnancy complication rate in Haiti is high and is associated with access to health care. The association between use of herbs and pregnancy complications warrants investigation.

Reliability of a sugar consumption questionnaire for rural Haiti.

OBJECTIVE: Studies of dental caries should account for sugar consumption as a potential confounder or effect modifier of other exposure-caries associations. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of a sugar consumption score for rural Haiti through correlation of test-retest scores derived from a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. METHODS: A structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire of sugar consumption was developed for rural Haiti to achieve contextual validity. The resulting questionnaire had two parts; one part captures the child's consumption of sugar products frequency; the second part captures sugar additions to the child's food preparation. A test-retest, one week apart, was conducted on a sample of 30 mother-child pairs (children ages 9-17). Test-retest correlations and paired t-testing was conducted to assess the questionnaire's reliability. RESULTS: All test-retest (Part 1, children's questions; Part 2, mother's questions; the combined scores) had Pearson product correlation coefficients of 0.7 or greater, respectively. All test-retest scores had paired t-test p-values3 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: A reliable, contextually valid relative sugar consumption questionnaire specific for rural Haiti is presented. The questionnaire and methodology employed in its development and testing may have utility for dental caries researchers in investigations in less developed countries.

Oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) in rural Haiti: a 40-year follow-up study.

This paper reports the changed findings over a 40-year period on oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of a very remote and rural population living the Jeremie region of Haiti. The far-sighted investigators of that original 1970 survey stated in their published 1972 paper that our "…findings are descriptive, but have to be accepted tentatively rather than definitively because time was short, transportation was difficult, and the small sample that had to be used could not random." They further insightfully stated their hopes that their "…results may be regarded as an anthropological cultural baseline from which to review further findings concerning Haitian dental beliefs." The two follow-up surveys in 1997 and 2010 using the same exact KAP questionnaire on the same population of rural Haitians living in the Jeremie region fulfilled the extraordinary vision of those two initial investigators, Dr. Wesley Young (a nationally renowned U.S. public health dental academician) and Paul Rundberg (then a dental student at the University of Kentucky).

The effect of an international embargo on malnutrition and childhood mortality in rural Haiti.

The study objective was to determine the effect of an international embargo against Haiti, from October 1991 through October 1994, on early childhood protein-energy malnutrition and all-cause mortality in a geographic area where humanitarian aid was continuously available to the children in the study. The authors used longitudinal anthropometric records on 1593 children, 24 months old or younger, living in the rural Grand Anse Department of Haiti from 1989 through 1996. Kaplan-Meier graphs for all-cause mortality accounting for malnutrition status and stratified by calendar period were applied to the database and assessed using logrank tests. Adjusted relative risks were assessed by Cox regression. The results show that despite the continuous availability of preventive services (1989-1996), higher all-cause mortality was more strongly associated with a calendar period coinciding with the international embargo than with periods before and after the embargo. The incidence of childhood mortality and of severe malnutrition were also higher during the period of the embargo than in the periods before and after the embargo. The findings suggest that future international sanctions, even those with humanitarian/medical exceptions, could result in substantial infant death.

Evaluation of children with recurrent pneumonia diagnosed by World Health Organization criteria.

BACKGROUND: A World Health Organization (WHO) case management approach has been used to identify and treat children with pneumonia worldwide since 1987. Many children are treated repeatedly: 23% of children with pneumonia in our rural Haitian district had met the WHO criteria on two or more occasions; but underlying disease in such children has not been systematically studied. METHODS: We enrolled 103 children who had been diagnosed with pneumonia on 3 or more occasions by community health workers using WHO criteria. We compared them with 138 children similarly evaluated but never diagnosed with pneumonia, matching by health worker and age. We administered questionnaires to parents and performed complete physical examinations, tuberculin skin tests and serologic testing for HIV on all subjects and chest radiographs on case children. RESULTS: Two percent of case children and 1.5% of controls had positive tuberculin skin test reactions. None of the children tested was HIV-seropositive. Ninety-four case children had normal baseline chest radiographs and three had focal infiltrates. A history of wheezing was reported for 79% of case children and 61% of controls (P = 0.002), and wheezing with exercise was reported for 36% and 22%, respectively (P = 0.02). DISCUSSION: Most children in Haiti with recurrent pneumonia diagnosed by WHO criteria do not have evidence of tuberculosis, HIV infection or pulmonary anomalies, but they may be more likely to have asthma, and this should be considered as an alternative diagnosis. This information should help direct evaluation of such children in other settings and prompt further study of asthma in developing countries.

Bottles to breastfeeding in rural Haiti.

In 1987 exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in Haiti was rare. Most rural women deliver at home. The Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) provides family- oriented, practical education and, home visits. By 1998, 66% of women completed six months of EBF; 80% by 2010. In 2011, HHF and two villages were certified "baby friendly."

Effect of early childhood protein-energy malnutrition on permanent dentition dental caries.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to determine the effect of early childhood protein-energy malnutrition (ECPEM) on decayed, missing, filled tooth (DMFT) scores in the permanent dentition of rural Haitian adolescents aged 11-19 years (n = 1,006). METHODS: We used data from a retrospective cohort that was developed from the Haitian Health Foundation database and merged records on weight-for-age covering the birth through 5-year-old period for all enrolled participants. Dental examinations and interviewer-administered structured questionnaires on demographic and socioeconomic status, and relative sugar consumption were completed in 1,058 participants aged 11-19 years. The ECPEM was defined based on weight-for-age of the subjects during their first 5 years of life that were converted to Z-scores based on the National Center for Health Statistics referent database. Descriptive statistics were calculated. DMFT was regressed on ECPEM adjusting for age, sex, current body mass index Z-score, socioeconomic status, relative sugar consumption, and number of permanent teeth present assuming a Poisson distribution. RESULTS: Questionable malnutrition [rate ratio (RR) = 0.72; 95 percent confidence interval (CI), 0.61-0.86] and malnutrition (RR = 0.58; 95 percent CI, 0.49-0.69) were associated with a statistically significant lower DMFT in Haitian adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: ECPEM status is inversely associated with DMFT in Haitian participants. Further follow-up of these same participants will be recommended to evaluate the potential caries catch-up effect.

Soccer and sexual health education: a promising approach for reducing adolescent births in Haiti / Fútbol y educación en salud sexual: un enfoque prometedor para reducir los partos en adolescentes en Haití

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of an innovative, integrative program in female sexual reproductive health (SRH) and soccer (or fútbol, in Haitian Creole) in rural Haiti by measuring the rate of births among program participants 15-19 years old and their nonparticipant peers. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study using 2006-2009 data from the computerized data-tracking system of the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization serving urban and rural populations in Haiti, was used to assess births among girls 15-19 years old who participated in HHF's GenNext program, a combination education-soccer program for youth, based on SRH classes HHF nurses and community workers had been conducting in Haiti for mothers, fathers, and youth; girl-centered health screenings; and an all-female summer soccer league, during 2006-2009 (n = 4 251). Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were carried out to assess differences in the rate of births among program participants according to their level of participation (SRH component only ("EDU") versus both the SRH and soccer components ("SO") compared to their village peers who did not participate. Hazard ratios (HRs) of birth rates were estimated using Cox regression analysis of childbearing data for the three different groups. RESULTS: In the multiple logistic regression analysis, only the girls in the "EDU" group had significantly fewer births than the nonparticipants after adjusting for confounders (odds ratio = 0.535; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.304, 0.940). The Cox regression analysis demonstrated that those in the EDU group (HR = 0.893; 95% CI = 0.802, 0.994) and to a greater degree those in the SO group (HR = 0.631; 95% CI = 0.558, 0.714) were significantly protected against childbearing between the ages of 15 and 19 years. CONCLUSIONS: HHF's GenNext program demonstrates the effectiveness of utilizing nurse educators, community mobilization, and youth participation in sports, education, and structured youth groups to promote and sustain health for adolescent girls and young women.

OBJETIVO: Explorar la repercusión de un programa innovador e integrador de salud sexual y reproductiva femenina y fútbol llevado a cabo en una zona rural de Haití, mediante la medición de la tasa de partos entre las participantes del programa, de 15 a 19 años de edad, y entre sus compañeras no participantes. MÉTODOS: Se utilizó un estudio retrospectivo de cohortes, que usaba los datos del periodo 2006-2009 del sistema de seguimiento de datos computadorizados de la Fundación Haitiana de Salud (HHF, una organización no gubernamental con sede en los Estados Unidos que presta servicio a las poblaciones urbanas y rurales de Haití, para evaluar los partos en las adolescentes de 15 a 19 años de edad que participaron en el programa GenNext de la HHF. Este programa es una combinación de educación y fútbol para jóvenes y se basa en las clases de salud sexual y reproductiva que el personal de enfermería de la HHF y los trabajadores comunitarios han impartido en Haití para madres, padres y jóvenes; los tamizajes de salud centrados en las adolescentes; y una liga de fútbol de verano solo para mujeres durante dicho periodo (n = 4 251). Se llevaron a cabo análisis bivariado y de regresión logística múltiple para evaluar las diferencias en las tasas de partos entre las participantes del programa según su nivel de participación (sólo el componente de salud sexual y reproductiva ["EDU"] frente a ambos componentes, salud sexual y reproductiva, y fútbol ["FU"]) en comparación con las compañeras de su municipio que no participaron . Se calcularon las razones de riesgo (RR) de las tasas de partos mediante análisis de regresión de Cox de los datos de maternidad de los tres grupos. RESULTADOS: En el análisis de regresión logística múltiple, sólo las adolescentes del grupo "EDU" tuvieron significativamente menos partos que las no participantes tras ajustar para los factores de confusión (razón de posibilidades = 0,535; intervalo de confianza [IC] 95% = 0,304-0,940). El análisis de regresión de Cox demostró que las del grupo EDU (RR = 0,893; IC 95% = 0,802-0,994), y en un mayor grado las del grupo FU (RR = 0,631; IC 95% = 0,558-0,714), estaban significativamente protegidas contra la maternidad en edades comprendidas entre los 15 y los 19 años. CONCLUSIONES: El programa GenNext de la HHF demuestra la eficacia de utilizar al personal de enfermería como educadores, la movilización comunitaria, y la participación de las jóvenes en actividades educativas y deportivas, y en grupos juveniles estructurados, para promover y mantener la salud de las adolescentes y las mujeres jóvenes.

No family left behind: the example of community-based pneumonia care in Haiti.

The Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) in Jeremie, Haiti conducted an intervention combating childhood bacterial pneumonia. HHF treated 60,000 episodes of respiratory illness in 15 years. The same care model is used for vaccinations, exclusive breastfeeding, diarrheal disease, congenital syphilis, and newborn care.

Maternal and congenital syphilis in rural Haiti.

OBJECTIVES: A study was conducted to assess the prevalence of maternal syphilis and estimate the rate of congenital syphilis in five rural villages surrounding Jeremie, Haiti. METHODS: This research was a retrospective observational study. Data were extracted from the Haitian Health Foundation's public health database and verified through original clinical paper records, death certificates, midwife reports, and discussions with community health workers. Data were analyzed by chi-square analysis, bivariate correlations, and two-tailed t-test for independent samples. RESULTS: Of the 410 women tested for syphilis, 31 (7.6%) were sero-reactive. Average gestation at time of testing was 25 weeks, which correlated with entry into prenatal care at an average of 23 weeks. Women who tested positive during pregnancy were more likely to have had a negative pregnancy outcome than those who did not (chi square = 16.4; P < 0.0001). The estimated rate of congenital syphilis in the region was 767 per 100,000 live births. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal syphilis is prevalent in rural Haiti. This prevalence combined with late entry into prenatal care contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes and a high estimated rate of congenital syphilis. More research is needed on congenital syphilis and prenatal-careseeking practices of rural Haitian women in order to understand the impact of maternal syphilis in the region and improve pregnancy outcomes.

Maternal mortality and the consequences on infant and child survival in rural Haiti.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the odds of death of children when a woman of reproductive age dies from maternal or non maternal causes in rural Haiti. METHODS: Deaths among reproductive aged women between 1997 and 1999 in and around Jeremie, Haiti were classified as maternal or non maternal and matched to female, non-deceasesd controls based on village, age, and parity. Information regarding the health and survival of all of the offspring under 12 years old of the identified women was extracted from the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) Health Information System (HIS). Additional demographic information was obtained through interviews with the mothers for controls and with family members for cases. Two analyses on child death were conducted; 1) the odds of death for each individual child after a mother's death and 2) the odds of one of the children in a family dying after the mother's death. FINDINGS: If a family experiences a maternal death, that family has a 55.0% increased odds of experiencing the loss of a child less than 12, whereas when a non maternal death occurs, no increased odds exists. When children of cases were compared to children of controls, mean weight z-scores were the same for the periods corresponding to before and after the maternal deaths. After a maternal death, dosage of BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) TB (tuberculosis) immunization for the surviving child is significantly lower, as are dosage of measles immunization and the first dose of vitamin A. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that a maternal death significantly effects the survival of children in a family in a greater way than a non maternal death.

Fathers clubs to improve child health in rural Haiti.

OBJECTIVES: This paper describes an innovative public health nursing strategy, village-based fathers clubs, to improve child and family health in rural Haiti. It discusses related nursing implications in Haiti and other parts of the world. DESIGN: Relevant current literature was reviewed and evaluated with respect to child health in Haiti and the development of the fathers clubs. Program participants and organizers were consulted. SAMPLE: The fathers clubs in remote areas of Jeremie Haiti, participants and program directors, provided input for this description. RESULTS: Public health practitioners continually face grave challenges when addressing the health care needs in less developed countries. One such case is Haiti, where crushing poverty, poor infrastructure, a failing economy, natural disasters, and chaotic sociopolitical conditions compound these challenges. Public health practitioners, including nurses, must seek creative, culturally-appropriate, low technologic approaches to improve the health of the children and families in the remote villages of Haiti. The institution and support of village fathers clubs is one approach that has been ongoing since 1994. Fathers meet together on a regular basis for health education, support, and community building activities. The curriculum is health-based and facilitated by nurses, with participation by young and old men alike. CONCLUSIONS: Participants and organizers believe that family and child health is improved as a result of the groups.

Maternal and congenital syphilis in rural Haiti / Sífilis materna y congénita en zonas rurales de Haití

OBJECTIVES: A study was conducted to assess the prevalence of maternal syphilis and estimate the rate of congenital syphilis in five rural villages surrounding Jeremie, Haiti. METHODS: This research was a retrospective observational study. Data were extracted from the Haitian Health Foundation's public health database and verified through original clinical paper records, death certificates, midwife reports, and discussions with community health workers. Data were analyzed by chi-square analysis, bivariate correlations, and two-tailed t-test for independent samples. RESULTS: Of the 410 women tested for syphilis, 31 (7.6 percent) were sero-reactive. Average gestation at time of testing was 25 weeks, which correlated with entry into prenatal care at an average of 23 weeks. Women who tested positive during pregnancy were more likely to have had a negative pregnancy outcome than those who did not (chi square = 16.4; P < 0.0001). The estimated rate of congenital syphilis in the region was 767 per 100,000 live births. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal syphilis is prevalent in rural Haiti. This prevalence combined with late entry into prenatal care contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes and a high estimated rate of congenital syphilis. More research is needed on congenital syphilis and prenatal-care-seeking practices of rural Haitian women in order to understand the impact of maternal syphilis in the region and improve pregnancy outcomes.

OBJETIVOS: Evaluar la prevalencia de sífilis materna y estimar la tasa de sífilis congénita en cinco poblaciones rurales cercanas a Jeremie, Haití. MÉTODOS: Estudio observacional retrospectivo a partir de datos extraídos de la base de datos de salud pública de la Fundación Haitiana de Salud y verificada con los registros clínicos originales en papel, los certificados de defunción, los informes de las parteras y discusiones con los trabajadores comunitarios de salud. Los datos se analizaron mediante la prueba de la ji al cuadrado, correlaciones bifactoriales y la prueba de la t de dos colas para muestras independientes. RESULTADOS: De las 410 mujeres sometidas a la prueba de sífilis, 31 (7,6 por ciento) resultaron seropositivas. La edad gestacional promedio al momento de la prueba fue de 25 semanas, lo que se correlacionó con la edad gestacional de entrada a la atención prenatal (23 semanas). Las mujeres que resultaron seropositivas durante el embarazo presentaron mayor probabilidad de tener un desenlace negativo de su embarazo que las mujeres que resultaron seronegativas (χ2 = 16,4; P < 0,0001). La tasa estimada de sífilis congénita en la zona fue de 767 por 100000 nacidos vivos. CONCLUSIONES: La sífilis materna es frecuente en las zonas rurales de Haití, lo que combinado con la entrada tardía a los servicios de atención prenatal, contribuye a los desenlaces adversos de los embarazos y a la alta tasa estimada de sífilis congénita. Se requieren más estudios sobre la sífilis congénita y los hábitos de búsqueda de atención prenatal de las mujeres de zonas rurales de Haití para comprender el impacto de la sífilis materna en esta parte del país y mejorar el desenlace de los embarazos.