Dataset Information

Advanced life support courses in Africa: Certification, availability and perceptions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Advanced life support (ALS) short training courses are in demand across Africa, though overwhelmingly designed and priced for non-African contexts. The continental expansion of emergency care is driving wider penetration of these courses, but their relevance and accessibility is not known. We surveyed clinicians within emergency settings to describe ALS courses' prevalence and perceived value in Africa.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional quantitative analysis of 235 clinicians' responses to the African Federation for Emergency Medicine's online needs assessment for an open-access ALS course in Africa. Participants responded to multiple-choice and open answer questions assessing demographics, ALS course certification and availability, perceptions of ALS courses, and barriers and facilitators to undertaking such courses.

Results

235 clinicians working in 23 African nations responded. Most clinicians reported ALS course completion within the past three years (73%) and in-country access to ALS courses (76%). Most believed the content adequately met their region's needs (60%). Price and course availability were the most common barriers to taking an ALS course. The most common courses were cardiac and paediatric-focused, and the most common reasons to take a course included general career development, personal interest, and departmental requirements.

Conclusion

One-quarter of emergency care clinicians lack access to ALS courses in twenty-three African nations. Most clinicians believe that ALS courses have value in their clinical settings and meet the needs of their region. Our findings illustrate the need for an affordable, widely available ALS course tailored to lower-resource African settings that could reach rural and peri-urban clinicians.

SUBMITTER: Friedman A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7723912 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Advanced life support courses in Africa: Certification, availability and perceptions.

Friedman Alexandra A Werner Kalin K Geduld Heike I HI Wallis Lee A LA

African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence 20200813 Suppl 1

<h4>Background</h4>Advanced life support (ALS) short training courses are in demand across Africa, though overwhelmingly designed and priced for non-African contexts. The continental expansion of emergency care is driving wider penetration of these courses, but their relevance and accessibility is not known. We surveyed clinicians within emergency settings to describe ALS courses' prevalence and perceived value in Africa.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a cross-sectional quantitative analysis of 235 ...[more]

PMID: 33318904

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Dataset Information

Advanced life support courses in Africa: Certification, availability and perceptions.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Advanced life support courses in Africa: Certification, availability and perceptions.

Similar Datasets

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