First Things First: Effectiveness and Scalability of a Basic Prehospital Trauma Care Program for Lay First-Responders in Kampala, Uganda

Sudha Jayaraman, Jacqueline R Mabweijano, Michael S Lipnick, Nolan Caldwell, Justin Miyamoto, Robert Wangoda, Cephas Mijumbi, Renee Hsia, Rochelle Dicker and Doruk Ozgediz

PLOS ONE, 2009, vol. 4, issue 9, 1-7

Abstract: Background: We previously showed that in the absence of a formal emergency system, lay people face a heavy burden of injuries in Kampala, Uganda, and we demonstrated the feasibility of a basic prehospital trauma course for lay people. This study tests the effectiveness of this course and estimates the costs and cost-effectiveness of scaling up this training. Methods and Findings: For six months, we prospectively followed 307 trainees (police, taxi drivers, and community leaders) who completed a one-day basic prehospital trauma care program in 2008. Cross-sectional surveys and fund of knowledge tests were used to measure their frequency of skill and supply use, reasons for not providing aid, perceived utility of the course and kit, confidence in using skills, and knowledge of first-aid. We then estimated the cost-effectiveness of scaling up the program. Conclusions: Lay first-responders effectively retained knowledge on prehospital trauma care and confidently used their first-aid skills and supplies for at least six months. The costs of scaling up this intervention to cover Kampala are very modest. This may be a cost-effective first step toward developing formal emergency services in Uganda other resource-constrained settings. Further research is needed in this critical area of trauma care in low-income countries.

Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0006955

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006955

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