Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysis

Introduction: Bosasso General Hospital is located in Puntland Somalia, an area affected by prolonged civil conflict, terrorism, clan fighting and piracy. International evidence highlights that staff skills and competence may have a significant impact on patient outcomes however there has been little...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ivy Muya, Joanne Garside, Marco Van-der Plas, Mohammed Ali Mohammed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-12-01
Series:African Journal of Emergency Medicine
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X16301112
id doaj-bdabb6f1626b49e5b0dbd23bae22cfc0
record_format Article
spelling doaj-bdabb6f1626b49e5b0dbd23bae22cfc02020-11-25T00:26:07ZengElsevierAfrican Journal of Emergency Medicine2211-419X2018-12-0184129133Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysisIvy Muya0Joanne Garside1Marco Van-der Plas2Mohammed Ali Mohammed3Medical Emergency Response Team, Somalia; Corresponding author.Division of Postgraduate Studies, University of Huddersfield, United KingdomUN-Habitat Somalia Programme, SomaliaDepartment of Nursing, Bossaso General Hospital, Bossaso, Puntland, SomaliaIntroduction: Bosasso General Hospital is located in Puntland Somalia, an area affected by prolonged civil conflict, terrorism, clan fighting and piracy. International evidence highlights that staff skills and competence may have a significant impact on patient outcomes however there has been little research on emergency education in such an austere and volatile environment. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify current practices and gaps in delivering emergency medicine education in this resource-deprived environment. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted to inform convergent parallel data collection techniques including questionnaire (n = 16), key informant (n = 5) and focus group interviews (n = 16). Data analysis, following data triangulation, produced descriptive quantitative statistics of themes such as emergency care, educational provision, enablers and barriers. Results: The research showed that among health care staff at the hospital, 19% of the nurses felt that visiting nurses offer some knowledge on emergency care, while 38% of knowledge was gained from visiting doctors. Regarding knowledge of emergency medicine, 88.9% of the nurses felt that emergency medicine is basically first aid. Discussion: Emergency care was perceived by the majority as essentially ‘first aid’. Many indicated that they received little or no regular or formal training on emergency care and related essential topics. In terms of challenges faced in delivering emergency care education demonstrated a common factor in the limited resources available which included lack of teaching materials, reading materials, online resources, health care professionals, equipment and mentors. Conclusions drawn suggest that the knowledge of emergency medicine by front line professionals is limited. Therefore, the development of field curricula, practical and theoretical training by visiting practitioners, provision of additional teaching aids, tools and equipment, integration of multiple disciplines in training and financial resource mobilisation would be beneficial in improving knowledge, attitudes and practices of emergency care. Keywords: Health care professionals, Emergency care, Emergency medicine education, Visiting practitionershttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X16301112
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Ivy Muya
Joanne Garside
Marco Van-der Plas
Mohammed Ali Mohammed
spellingShingle Ivy Muya
Joanne Garside
Marco Van-der Plas
Mohammed Ali Mohammed
Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysis
African Journal of Emergency Medicine
author_facet Ivy Muya
Joanne Garside
Marco Van-der Plas
Mohammed Ali Mohammed
author_sort Ivy Muya
title Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysis
title_short Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysis
title_full Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysis
title_fullStr Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysis
title_full_unstemmed Emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: A situational analysis
title_sort emergency health education in a conflict stricken environment: a situational analysis
publisher Elsevier
series African Journal of Emergency Medicine
issn 2211-419X
publishDate 2018-12-01
description Introduction: Bosasso General Hospital is located in Puntland Somalia, an area affected by prolonged civil conflict, terrorism, clan fighting and piracy. International evidence highlights that staff skills and competence may have a significant impact on patient outcomes however there has been little research on emergency education in such an austere and volatile environment. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify current practices and gaps in delivering emergency medicine education in this resource-deprived environment. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted to inform convergent parallel data collection techniques including questionnaire (n = 16), key informant (n = 5) and focus group interviews (n = 16). Data analysis, following data triangulation, produced descriptive quantitative statistics of themes such as emergency care, educational provision, enablers and barriers. Results: The research showed that among health care staff at the hospital, 19% of the nurses felt that visiting nurses offer some knowledge on emergency care, while 38% of knowledge was gained from visiting doctors. Regarding knowledge of emergency medicine, 88.9% of the nurses felt that emergency medicine is basically first aid. Discussion: Emergency care was perceived by the majority as essentially ‘first aid’. Many indicated that they received little or no regular or formal training on emergency care and related essential topics. In terms of challenges faced in delivering emergency care education demonstrated a common factor in the limited resources available which included lack of teaching materials, reading materials, online resources, health care professionals, equipment and mentors. Conclusions drawn suggest that the knowledge of emergency medicine by front line professionals is limited. Therefore, the development of field curricula, practical and theoretical training by visiting practitioners, provision of additional teaching aids, tools and equipment, integration of multiple disciplines in training and financial resource mobilisation would be beneficial in improving knowledge, attitudes and practices of emergency care. Keywords: Health care professionals, Emergency care, Emergency medicine education, Visiting practitioners
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X16301112
work_keys_str_mv AT ivymuya emergencyhealtheducationinaconflictstrickenenvironmentasituationalanalysis
AT joannegarside emergencyhealtheducationinaconflictstrickenenvironmentasituationalanalysis
AT marcovanderplas emergencyhealtheducationinaconflictstrickenenvironmentasituationalanalysis
AT mohammedalimohammed emergencyhealtheducationinaconflictstrickenenvironmentasituationalanalysis
_version_ 1725345855691554816