Emergency medicine registrar training in Africa: overview of programmes, faculty and sustainability

2020 ◽  
pp. emermed-2019-208668
Author(s):  
Abena Obenewaa Akomeah ◽  
Hendry Robert Sawe ◽  
Juma A Mfinanga ◽  
Michael S Runyon ◽  
Erin Elizabeth Noste

BackgroundThe specialty of emergency medicine (EM) is new in most African countries, where emergency medicine registrar (residency) programmes (EMRPs) are at different stages of evolution and little is known about the programmes. Identifying and describing these EMRPs will facilitate planning for sustainability, collaborative efforts and curriculum development for existing and future programmes. Our objective was to identify and provide an overview of existing EMRPs in Africa and their applicant requirements, faculty characteristics and plans for sustainability.MethodsWe conducted a descriptive cross-sectional survey of Africa’s EMRPs between January and December 2017, identifying programmes through an online search supplemented by discussions with African EM leaders. Leaders of all identified African EMRPs were invited to participate. Data were collected prospectively using a structured survey and are summarised with descriptive statistics.ResultsWe identified 15 programmes in 12 countries and received survey responses from 11 programmes in 10 countries. Eight of the responding EMRPs began in 2010 or later. Only 36% of the EMRPs offer a 3-year programme. Women make up an average of 33% of faculty. Only 40% of EMRPs require faculty to be EM specialists. In smaller samples that reported the relevant data, 67% (4/6) of EMRPs have EM specialists who trained in that EMRP programme making up more than half of their faculty; 57% of Africa’s 288 EMRP graduates to date are men; and an average of 39% of EMRP graduates stay on as faculty for 78% (7/9) of EMRPs.ConclusionEMRPs currently produce most of their own EM faculty. Almost equal proportions of men and women have graduated from a predominantly >3-year training programme. Graduates have a variety of opportunities in academia and private practice. Future assessments may wish to focus on the evolution of these programme’ curricula, faculty composition and graduates’ career options.

Author(s):  
Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie ◽  
Samuel Kofi Odame

AbstractSuicidal ideation is a critical risk for attempted suicide and eventual suicide. Little is known about suicidal ideation among rural adolescents in most sub-Saharan African countries. We aimed to estimate the 12-month prevalence of suicidal ideation and to describe some of the common and gender-specific associated factors among in-school adolescents in rural Ghana. We conducted a cross-sectional survey involving a random sample of 1101 in-school adolescents aged 10–19 years in a rural district in Eastern Ghana. The Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised was used to assess suicidal ideation. Overall, 25.1% participants (95% CI = 22.5–27.7), representing 28.3% females (95% CI = 24.7–32.2) and 21.5% males (95% CI = 18.0–25.2) reported suicidal ideation during the previous 12 months. Females who experienced personal and interpersonal adversities mainly outside the family context were likely to report suicidal ideation, while suicidal ideation among males was associated with conflict with parents. Regardless of gender, adolescents who reported exposure to a friend’s attempted suicide were about two times more likely to report suicidal ideation. The prevalence of suicidal ideation among adolescents in rural Ghana compares with in-school estimates from other countries within sub-Saharan Africa, but also underscores the need for targeted and universal prevention programmes and intervention efforts to mitigate the potential transition from suicidal ideations to suicidal attempts and eventual deaths by suicide among rural adolescents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000942
Author(s):  
Oliver G P Lawton ◽  
Sarah A Lawton ◽  
Lisa Dikomitis ◽  
Joanne Protheroe ◽  
Joanne Smith ◽  
...  

COVID-19 has significantly impacted young people’s lives yet little is known about the COVID-19 related sources of information they access. We performed a cross-sectional survey of pupils (11–16 years) in North Staffordshire, UK. 408 (23%) pupils responded to an online survey emailed to them by their school. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Social media, accessed by 68%, played a significant role in the provision of information, despite it not being considered trustworthy. 89% felt that COVID-19 had negatively affected their education. Gaps in the provision of information on COVID-19 have been identified.


CJEM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. S76-S76
Author(s):  
R. Schonnop ◽  
B. Stauffer ◽  
A. Gauri ◽  
D. Ha

Introduction: Procedural skills are a key component of an emergency physician's practice. The Edmonton Zone is a health region that comprises twelve tertiary, urban community and rural community emergency departments (EDs) and represents over three hundred emergency physicians. This study describes the current attitudes toward procedural skill competency, current procedural skill practices, and the role for educational skills training sessions among emergency medicine physicians within a geographical health region. Methods: Multicenter descriptive cross-sectional survey of all emergency medicine physicians working at 12 emergency departments within the Edmonton Zone in 2019 (n = 274). The survey underwent several phases of systematic review; including item generation and reduction, pilot testing, and clinical sensibility testing. Survey items addressed current procedural skill performance frequency, perceived importance and confidence, current methods to maintain competence, barriers and facilitating factors to participation in a curriculum, preferred teaching methods, and desired frequency of practice for each procedural skill. Results: Survey response rate was 53.6%. Variability in frequency of performed procedures was apparent across the type of hospital sites. For majority of skills, there was a significantly positive correlation between the frequency at which a skill was performed and the perceived confidence performing said skill. There was inconsistency and no significant correlation with perceived importance, perceived confidence, or frequency performing a given skill and the desired frequency of training for that skill. Course availability (76.2%) and time (72.8%) are the most common identified barriers to participation in procedural skills training. Conclusion: This study summarized the current emergency department procedural skill practices and attitudes toward procedural skill competency and an educational curriculum among emergency medicine physicians in Edmonton. This represents a step towards targeted continuing professional development in the growing realm of competency-based medical education.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Grace Vincent-Onabajo ◽  
Taritei Moses

Background. Knowledge of stroke risk factors is expected to reduce the incidence of stroke—whether first-ever or recurrent. This study examined knowledge of stroke risk factors and its determinants among stroke survivors.Methods. A cross-sectional survey of consenting stroke survivors at two physiotherapy facilities in Nigeria was carried out. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained and knowledge of stroke risk factors (defined as the ability to mention at least one correct risk factor) was assessed using open-ended questionnaire. Data were treated with descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis.Results. Sixty-nine stroke survivors (male = 72.5%; mean ± SD age =49.7±10.6years) participated in the study. Thirty-four (49.4%) participants had knowledge of stroke risk factors. Only educational level was significantly associated with knowledge and participants with tertiary educational qualification were about 48 times (odds ratio = 48.5; CI = 7.6–309.8;P<0.0001) more likely to be knowledgeable than those with no education.Conclusion. Less than half of the participants had knowledge of stroke risk factors. Participants with tertiary education were significantly more knowledgeable than those with lower educational qualifications. Effective means of educating stroke survivors on stroke risk factors should be identified and adopted.


Author(s):  
Adithya Pradyumna ◽  
Mirko S. Winkler ◽  
Jürg Utzinger ◽  
Andrea Farnham

Studies from India and several eastern African countries found that the impact of dairy animal ownership on household nutrition varied greatly, depending on the socio-geographic context. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between livestock ownership and household dietary quality in rural Kolar district, India. We collected data from a household survey in four study villages (n = all 195 households of the four villages) of Kolar district, applying a cross-sectional design. Kendall’s rank correlation coefficient was employed to determine the correlation between milk consumption and other dietary variables. Multivariable logistic regression was used to describe the relationship between dairy animal ownership and household milk consumption. Households owning dairy animals more often had access to irrigation (58.3% vs. 25.2%) and were less often woman-headed (2.4% vs. 22.5%). Household milk consumption was significantly correlated with consumption of vegetable variety, egg, and meat (all p-values < 0.05). After adjusting for multiple confounders, the odds ratio of milk consumption between dairy animal-owning households as compared to other households was 2.11 (95% confidence interval 0.85, 5.45). While dairy animal ownership was found to be associated with improved dietary quality, larger households were in a better position to adopt dairy animals, which, in turn, might contribute to better household nutrition.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
William Dean ◽  
Stephen Gichuhi ◽  
John Buchan ◽  
Ibrahim Matende ◽  
Ronnie Graham ◽  
...  

Background: There are 2.7 ophthalmologists per million population in sub-Saharan Africa, and a need to train more. We sought to analyse current surgical training practice and experience of ophthalmologists to inform planning of training in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey. Potential participants included all current trainee and recent graduate ophthalmologists in the Eastern, Central and Southern African region. A link to a web-based questionnaire was sent to all heads of eye departments and training programme directors of ophthalmology training institutions in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, who forwarded to all their trainees and recent graduates. Main outcome measures were quantitative and qualitative survey responses. Results: Responses were obtained from 124 (52%) trainees in the region. Overall level of satisfaction with ophthalmology training programmes was rated as ‘somewhat satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ by 72%. Most frequent intended career choice was general ophthalmology, with >75% planning to work in their home country post-graduation. A quarter stated a desire to mainly work in private practice. Only 28% of junior (first and second year) trainees felt surgically confident in manual small incision cataract surgery (SICS); this increased to 84% among senior trainees and recent graduates. The median number of cataract surgeries performed by junior trainees was zero. 57% of senior trainees were confident in performing an anterior vitrectomy. Only 29% of senior trainees and 64% of recent graduates were confident in trabeculectomy. The mean number of cataract procedures performed by senior trainees was 84 SICS (median 58) and 101 phacoemulsification (median 0). Conclusion: Satisfaction with post-graduate ophthalmology training in the region was fair. Most junior trainees experience limited cataract surgical training in the first two years. Focused efforts on certain aspects of surgical education should be made to ensure adequate opportunities are offered earlier on in ophthalmology training.


2021 ◽  
pp. 63-65
Author(s):  
Sonia Khatri ◽  
Indiresha H Narayana ◽  
Soumyadeep Ghosh ◽  
Kavimalar Kavimalar ◽  
Arbiya Anjum ◽  
...  

The Covid-19 has changed the life of the entire world and its wave has affected all elds of medicine and dentistry. The concern about coronavirus transmission and dental practice has been widely recognized around the world.The purpose of this survey was to investigate the inuence of coronavirus disease on patients' views with regards to their dental treatment requirements. Materials and methods: It is a cross-sectional survey conducted over 430 patients seeking dental treatment in Ramaiah dental college and hospital Bangalore, Karnataka, India. This survey has been conducted through electronic communication applications such as WhatsApp and Gmail, for three months. A structured and validated questionnaire was administered to the study subjects. Collected data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Results:Atotal of 1000 patients were selected for the survey, in this only 43% of subjects completed the survey. Out of 430 responses, 50.1% of the subjects had dental problems. 38.3% of subjects expressed the unavailability of dental clinics and hospitals during Covid-19, 31.4% unavailability of the dentist. Of the 42.9% of patients who visited the dental clinic during the covid-19 pandemic, 38% of subjects observed the increase in treatment cost, only 30.5% of subjects were provided with emergency treatment. The majority of subjects (75.7%) expressed that dentists are practicing good precautionary measures such as wearing PPE kits, mouth masks etc. Conclusion: During the coronavirus pandemic, the patients demonstrated good knowledge and an optimistic attitude towards the precautionary modications in regard to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in the dental setting.


2021 ◽  
pp. 181-196
Author(s):  
Sean G Massey ◽  
Richard E. Mattson ◽  
Mei-Hsiu Chen ◽  
Melissa Hardesty ◽  
Ann Merriwether ◽  
...  

This trend study analyzed 9 years (2011–2019) of cross-sectional survey responses to Klein’s Sexual Orientation Grid to explore changes in sexual orientation among emerging adult college students. Categorical regression models based on ordinal responses revealed that participants were moving away from exclusive heterosexuality on attraction, behavior, and identity subscales at a rate of approximately 6% per year. This trend augments for women after 2014, coinciding with increased advocacy efforts related to U.S. marriage equality, but attenuates for men. Participants’ race also related to variations in sexual orientation: Black participants were less likely than White participants to identify as exclusively heterosexual, whereas the pattern reversed for Asian participants relative to White participants. These findings suggest that changes in sexual orientation are occurring among emerging adults in the United States, potentially in response to changing social and political contexts, but these changes are more pronounced in women and Black emerging adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1109-1117
Author(s):  
Melissa M. Winder ◽  
Zhining Ou ◽  
Angela P. Presson ◽  
Madolin K. Witte ◽  
Adam L. Ware ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:To determine the Final ICU Need in the 24 hours prior to ICU discharge for children with cardiac disease by utilising a single-centre survey.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was utilised to determine Final ICU Need, which was categorised as “Cardiovascular”, “Respiratory”, “Feeding”, “Sedation”, “Systems Issue”, or “Other” for each encounter. Survey responses were obtained from attending physicians who discharged children (≤18 years of age with ICU length of stay >24 hours) from the Cardiac ICU between April 2016 and July 2018.Measurements and results:Survey response rate was 99% (n = 1073), with 667 encounters eligible for analysis. “Cardiovascular” (61%) and “Respiratory” (26%) were the most frequently chosen Final ICU Needs. From a multivariable mixed effects logistic regression model fitted to “Cardiovascular” and “Respiratory”, operations with significantly reduced odds of having “Cardiovascular” Final ICU Need included Glenn palliation (p = 0.003), total anomalous pulmonary venous connection repair (p = 0.024), truncus arteriosus repair (p = 0.044), and vascular ring repair (p < 0.001). Short lengths of stay (<7.9 days) had significantly higher odds of “Cardiovascular” Final ICU Need (p < 0.001). “Cardiovascular” and “Respiratory” Final ICU Needs were also associated with provider and ICU discharge season.Conclusions:Final ICU Need is a novel metric to identify variations in Cardiac ICU utilisation and clinical trajectories. Final ICU Need was significantly influenced by benchmark operation, length of stay, provider, and season. Future applications of Final ICU Need include targeting quality and research initiatives, calibrating provider and family expectations, and identifying provider-level variability in care processes and mental models.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 348-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Roth ◽  
Monique Gill ◽  
Alec M. Chan-Golston ◽  
Lindsay N. Rice ◽  
Catherine M. Crespi ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of benefits and barriers and their relationship with physical activity (PA) among predominantly Latino middle school students. Data were collected in a cross-sectional survey of 4,773 seventh-grade students recruited from a large, urban school district in Los Angeles. Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to assess determinants of benefits and barriers as well as their association with self-reported PA. Differences in benefits and barriers were observed by gender, ethnicity, and body size. Barriers were negatively correlated with all three PA outcomes while benefits were positively associated with exercising at least 60 min daily. A deeper understanding of benefits and barriers can facilitate the development of interventions and collaborative efforts among physical education teachers, school nurses, and administrators to implement comprehensive approaches that encourage students’ participation in PA inside and outside of the classroom.


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