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      Development and Implementation of Short Courses to Support the Establishment of a Prehospital System in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons Learned from Tanzania

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          Abstract

          Background

          Tanzania has no formal prehospital system. The Tanzania Ministry of Health launched a formal prehospital system to address this gap. The Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) was tasked by the Ministry of Health to develop and implement a multicadre/provider prehospital curriculum so as to produce necessary healthcare providers to support the prehospital system. We aim to describe the process of designing and implementing the multicadre/provider prehospital short courses. The lessons learned can help inform similar initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.

          Methods

          MUHAS collaborated with local and international Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) specialists to form the Emergency Medical Systems Team (EMST) that developed and implemented four short courses on prehospital care. The EMST used a six-step approach to develop and implement the curriculum: problem identification, general needs assessment, targeted needs assessment, goals and objectives, educational strategies, and implementation. The EMST modified current best EMS practices, protocols, and curricula to be context and resource appropriate in Tanzania.

          Results

          We developed four prehospital short courses: Basic Ambulance Provider (BAP), Basic Ambulance Attendant (BAAT), Community First Aid (CFA), and EMS Dispatcher courses. The curriculum was vetted and approved by MUHAS, and courses were launched in November 2018. By the end of July 2019, a total of 63 BAPs, 104 BAATs, 25 EMS Dispatchers, and 287 CFAs had graduated from the programs. The main lessons learned are the importance of a practical approach to EMS development and working with the existing government cadre/provider scheme to ensure sustainability of the project; clearly defining scope of practice of EMS providers before curriculum development; and concurrent development of a multicadre/provider curriculum to better address the logistical barriers of implementation.

          Conclusion

          We have provided an overview of the process of designing and implementing four short courses to train multiple cadres/providers of prehospital system providers in Tanzania. We believe this model of curricula development and implementation can be replicated in other countries across Africa.

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          Identifying barriers for out of hospital emergency care in low and low-middle income countries: a systematic review

          Antony Kironji, Peter Hodkinson, Sarah de Ramirez … (2018)
          Background Out-of-hospital emergency care (OHEC), also known as prehospital care, has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality from serious illness. We sought to summarize literature for low and low-middle income countries to identify barriers to and key interventions for OHEC delivery. Methods We performed a systematic review of the peer reviewed literature from January 2005 to March 2015 in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science. All articles referencing research from low and low-middle income countries addressing OHEC, emergency medical services, or transport/transfer of patients were included. We identified themes in the literature to form six categories of OHEC barriers. Data were collected using an electronic form and results were aggregated to produce a descriptive summary. Results A total 1927 titles were identified, 31 of which met inclusion criteria. Barriers to OHEC were divided into six categories that included: culture/community, infrastructure, communication/coordination, transport, equipment and personnel. Lack of transportation was a common problem, with 55% (17/31) of articles reporting this as a hindrance to OHEC. Ambulances were the most commonly mentioned (71%, 22/31) mode of transporting patients. However, many patients still relied on alternative means of transportation such as hired cars, and animal drawn carts. Sixty-one percent (19/31) of articles identified a lack of skilled personnel as a key barrier, with 32% (10/31) of OHEC being delivered by laypersons without formal training. Forty percent (12/31) of the systems identified in the review described a uniform access phone number for emergency medical service activation. Conclusions Policy makers and researchers seeking to improve OHEC in low and low-middle income countries should focus on increasing the availability of transport and trained providers while improving patient access to the OHEC system. The review yielded articles with a primary focus in Africa, highlighting a need for future research in diverse geographic areas.
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            Assessment of the status of prehospital care in 13 low- and middle-income countries.

            Katie Nielsen, Charles Mock, Manjul Joshipura … (2016)
            Injury and other medical emergencies are becoming increasingly common in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Many to most of the deaths from these conditions occur outside of hospitals, necessitating the development of prehospital care. Prehospital capabilities are inadequately developed to meet the growing needs for emergency care in most LMICs. In order to better plan for development of prehospital care globally, this study sought to better understand the current status of prehospital care in a wide range of LMICs. A survey was conducted of emergency medical services (EMS) leaders and other key informants in 13 LMICs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Questions addressed methods of transport to hospital, training and certification of EMS providers, organization and funding of EMS systems, public access to prehospital care, and barriers to EMS development. Prehospital care capabilities varied significantly, but in general were less developed in low-income countries and in rural areas, where utilization of formal EMS was often very low. Commercial drivers, volunteers, and other bystanders provided a large proportion of prehospital transport and occasionally also provided first aid in many locations. Although taxes and mandatory motor vehicle insurance provided supplemental funds to EMS in 85% of the countries, the most frequently cited barriers to further development of prehospital care was inadequate funding (36% of barriers cited). The next most commonly cited barriers were lack of leadership within the system (18%) and lack of legislation setting standards (18%). Expansion of prehospital care to currently underserved or unserved areas, especially in low-income countries and in rural areas, could make use of the already-existing networks of first responders, such as commercial drivers and laypersons. Efforts to increase their effectiveness, such as more widespread first-aid training, and better encompassing their efforts within formal EMS, are warranted. In terms of existing formal EMS, there is a need for increased and more regular funding, integration and coordination among existing services, and improved organization and leadership, as could be accomplished by making EMS administration and leadership a more desirable career path.
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              The OPALS Major Trauma Study: impact of advanced life-support on survival and morbidity.

              Justin Maloney, Ian G Stiell, William Pickett … (2008)
              To date, the benefit of prehospital advanced life-support programs on trauma-related mortality and morbidity has not been established The Ontario Prehospital Advanced Life Support (OPALS) Major Trauma Study was a before-after systemwide controlled clinical trial conducted in 17 cities. We enrolled adult patients who had experienced major trauma in a basic life-support phase and a subsequent advanced life-support phase (during which paramedics were able to perform endotracheal intubation and administer fluids and drugs intravenously). The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Among the 2867 patients enrolled in the basic life-support (n = 1373) and advanced life-support (n = 1494) phases, characteristics were similar, including mean age (44.8 v. 47.5 years), frequency of blunt injury (92.0% v. 91.4%), median injury severity score (24 v. 22) and percentage of patients with Glasgow Coma Scale score less than 9 (27.2% v. 22.1%). Survival did not differ overall (81.1% among patients in the advanced life-support phase v. 81.8% among those in the basic life-support phase; p = 0.65). Among patients with Glasgow Coma Scale score less than 9, survival was lower among those in the advanced life-support phase (50.9% v. 60.0%; p = 0.02). The adjusted odds of death for the advanced life-support v. basic life-support phases were nonsignificant (1.2, 95% confidence interval 0.9-1.7; p = 0.16). The OPALS Major Trauma Study showed that systemwide implementation of full advanced life-support programs did not decrease mortality or morbidity for major trauma patients. We also found that during the advanced life-support phase, mortality was greater among patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores less than 9. We believe that emergency medical services should carefully re-evaluate the indications for and application of prehospital advanced life-support measures for patients who have experienced major trauma.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Hendry R. Sawe:
                ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0395-5385
                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Emerg Med Int
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Emerg Med Int
                Journal ID (publisher-id): EMI
                Title: Emergency Medicine International
                Publisher: Hindawi
                ISSN (Print): 2090-2840
                ISSN (Electronic): 2090-2859
                Publication date Collection: 2019
                Publication date (Electronic): 1 December 2019
                Volume: 2019
                Electronic Location Identifier: 3160562
                Affiliations
                1Emergency Medicine Department, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
                2Emergency Medicine Department, Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
                3Emergency Medicine Association of Tanzania, Dar es salaam, Tanzania
                4Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia
                5Department of Emergency Medicine, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC, USA
                6Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
                Author notes

                Academic Editor: Jacek Smereka

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0395-5385
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1703-4317
                Article
                DOI: 10.1155/2019/3160562
                PMC ID: 6913157
                SO-VID: 7a420187-50d9-4572-821b-6a1e24d3d53f
                Copyright © Copyright © 2019 Hendry R. Sawe et al.
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 30 July 2019
                Date revision received : 18 October 2019
                Date accepted : 1 November 2019
                Funding
                Funded by: World Bank
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Emergency medicine & Trauma
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Emergency medicine & Trauma

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