• Established a Women's Wellness Center in Pereyaslavka;
• Developed and implemented a school-based educational program to address risk behaviors of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 in Lazo Region;
• Conducted clinical lab training for 70 percent of lab personnel in Lazo Region;
• Established a diabetes school for patients and provided educational and clinical training programs for 75 percent of medical personnel participating in the partner-developed program; and
• Replicated a decision-making process involving community leaders and residents in the development of a health education and promotion.

Adolescent Health

Partners opened a Youth Health Promotion Center in August 2001 to promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors among youth. They conducted a youth risk behavior survey of approximately 838 children and young adults to determine key challenges. Results indicated that some 60 percent of all respondents had smoked cigarettes, nearly 75 percent had consumed alcohol, more than 10 percent had smoked marijuana, and over 14 percent had carried a weapon during the past month. Survey data was used to guide program decisions and the US partnership coordinator led focus groups with local youths to discuss the behavior survey results and potential program interventions.

Partners trained a group of students in Khor as peer educators and they began to disseminate health promotion information to their contemporaries. US partners also conducted a peer-to-peer training workshop on healthy lifestyle behaviors for groups of teens.

Partners distributed televisions, VCRs, and Russian translations of educational videos on a wide range of health topics to various health education and outreach sites including schools, orphanages, and a teen center. They involved personnel from each of these locations in community-initiated program planning to ensure services were in line with the actual needs of the local population.

Partners conducted a three-day conference titled “Helping Children at Risk through Community-based Initiatives” in Pereyaslavka in August 2000.

Two Khabarovsk partners attended a July 2001 training of trainers workshop on substance abuse conducted by AIHA in Moscow. Faculty at the event included experts from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Russian partners met with representatives from Planned Parenthood and discussed pregnancy and STI prevention techniques for teenage girls. Brochures on these topics were translated and distributed at the WWC and the Youth Health Promotion Center.

The Lexington partners founded a charity called The Children's Forget-Me-Not Foundation, which hosted a community awareness and fund-raising event at the Lexington Art Museum in the summer of 2000.

Partners launched an intergenerational pilot program involving residents of the Khabarovsk Veteran's Home and Orphanage No. 2.

Community Health

In August 2000, US partners conducted community meetings in five rural villages throughout Khabarovsk Krai to learn about local health needs and demonstrate effective community-based planning methodology to their Russian counterparts. Partners continued to hold focus group meetings when developing new program objectives.
US partners conducted a series of diabetic treatment, care, and maintenance workshops for medical personnel were conducted for Russian healthcare providers in December 2001. They also used the Community Health Education Center for a presentation on diabetes to interested community members. Approximately 40 people attended the workshops.

AIHA conducted a four-day community development workshop in January 2002; 24 community stakeholders from Khabarovsk participated. The team developed plans for new programs and, within a year, had implemented a multidisciplinary STI education program for students at a vocational school and a drug abuse prevention program for secondary school students.

In September 2002, four Khabarovsk partners attended a smoking cessation conference in Moscow. They were introduced to a systematic approach to tobacco cessation through the instruction and practice of intervention techniques then created community-specific action plans for smoking cessation that were implemented through the Khor District Hospital.

Women's Health

Partners officially opened a Women’s Wellness Center in May 2002 in Pereyaslavka after renovating existing space at the polyclinic. The WWC serves a population of 16,000 women of all ages and provides high quality patient-centered services in family planning, STD prevention, and pregnancy classes.

Through professional exchanges in Kentucky and a wide range of training activities, the Khabarovsk partners were introduced to effective clinical, operational, and management practices that could be effectively adapted for use in the Lazo Region. They observed physical therapy practices; learned the principles of a patient-centered approach to care; and learned the importance of family support, community volunteer networks, and patient networking and communication.

In March 2002, the US partnership coordinator co-led a management training workshop for 13 members of the WWC staff, using relevant case studies and current operational policies.

Other Accomplishments

In December 2001, a US partner delivered laboratory science workshops for 12 lab personnel. Additionally, the personnel were introduced to relevant Internet sites where they can obtain information on laboratory services and supplies.

Partners provided education and advanced training on aging and long-term care to 70 percent of the personnel working at the Veteran's Home in Pereyaslavka.

The chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Khabarovsk Medical University was given an adjunct appointment to the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky and partners began planning an ongoing medical student exchange between the two universities.