Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey
Introduction Emergency medicine (EM) is a growing field in Sub-Saharan Africa. Characterising the current capacity of hospitals to provide emergency care is important in identifying gaps and future directions of growth. This study aimed to characterise the ability of emergency units (EU) to provide...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-02-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/2/e068484.full |
| _version_ | 1826545449522167808 |
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| author | Daniel Wilhelms Blandina Mmbaga Catherine A Staton Frida Shayo Malin Ardsby Francis M Sakita Baraka Moshi Parker Frankiewicz Lincoln Luis Silva Anjni Joiner |
| author_facet | Daniel Wilhelms Blandina Mmbaga Catherine A Staton Frida Shayo Malin Ardsby Francis M Sakita Baraka Moshi Parker Frankiewicz Lincoln Luis Silva Anjni Joiner |
| author_sort | Daniel Wilhelms |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Emergency medicine (EM) is a growing field in Sub-Saharan Africa. Characterising the current capacity of hospitals to provide emergency care is important in identifying gaps and future directions of growth. This study aimed to characterise the ability of emergency units (EU) to provide emergency care in the Kilimanjaro region in Northern Tanzania.Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at 11 hospitals with emergency care capacity in three districts in the Kilimanjaro region of Northern Tanzania assessed in May 2021. An exhaustive sampling approach was used, whereby all hospitals within the three-district area were surveyed. Hospital representatives were surveyed by two EM physicians using the Hospital Emergency Assessment tool developed by the WHO; data were analysed in Excel and STATA.Results All hospitals provided emergency services 24 hours a day. Nine had a designated area for emergency care, four had a core of fixed providers assigned to the EU, two lacked a protocol for systematic triage. For Airway and Breathing interventions, oxygen administration was adequate in 10 hospitals, yet manual airway manoeuvres were only adequate in six and needle decompression in two. For Circulation interventions, fluid administration was adequate in all facilities, yet intraosseous access and external defibrillation were each only available in two. Only one facility had an ECG readily available in the EU and none was able to administer thrombolytic therapy. For trauma interventions, all facilities could immobilise fractures, yet lacked interventions such as cervical spinal immobilisation and pelvic binding. These deficiencies were primarily due to lack of training and resources.Conclusion Most facilities perform systematic triage of emergency patients, though major gaps were found in the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome and initial stabilisation manoeuvres of patients with trauma. Resource limitations were primarily due to equipment and training deficiencies. We recommend the development of future interventions in all levels of facilities to improve the level of training. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-14T05:18:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d1e3e3623c745b693eb79b4e46ffda12025-03-06T09:05:15ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552023-02-0113210.1136/bmjopen-2022-068484Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional surveyDaniel Wilhelms0Blandina Mmbaga1Catherine A Staton2Frida Shayo3Malin Ardsby4Francis M Sakita5Baraka Moshi6Parker Frankiewicz7Lincoln Luis Silva8Anjni Joiner9Emergency Department, Linköping University Hospital, Linkoping, Östergötland, Sweden5 Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Moshi, TanzaniaDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USAEmegency Medicine, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, United Republic of TanzaniaEmergency Medicine, Linkopings universitet, Linkoping, SwedenKilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania, United Republic ofKilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Kilimanjaro, TanzaniaDuke Global Health Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USADuke Global Health Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USADuke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USAIntroduction Emergency medicine (EM) is a growing field in Sub-Saharan Africa. Characterising the current capacity of hospitals to provide emergency care is important in identifying gaps and future directions of growth. This study aimed to characterise the ability of emergency units (EU) to provide emergency care in the Kilimanjaro region in Northern Tanzania.Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at 11 hospitals with emergency care capacity in three districts in the Kilimanjaro region of Northern Tanzania assessed in May 2021. An exhaustive sampling approach was used, whereby all hospitals within the three-district area were surveyed. Hospital representatives were surveyed by two EM physicians using the Hospital Emergency Assessment tool developed by the WHO; data were analysed in Excel and STATA.Results All hospitals provided emergency services 24 hours a day. Nine had a designated area for emergency care, four had a core of fixed providers assigned to the EU, two lacked a protocol for systematic triage. For Airway and Breathing interventions, oxygen administration was adequate in 10 hospitals, yet manual airway manoeuvres were only adequate in six and needle decompression in two. For Circulation interventions, fluid administration was adequate in all facilities, yet intraosseous access and external defibrillation were each only available in two. Only one facility had an ECG readily available in the EU and none was able to administer thrombolytic therapy. For trauma interventions, all facilities could immobilise fractures, yet lacked interventions such as cervical spinal immobilisation and pelvic binding. These deficiencies were primarily due to lack of training and resources.Conclusion Most facilities perform systematic triage of emergency patients, though major gaps were found in the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome and initial stabilisation manoeuvres of patients with trauma. Resource limitations were primarily due to equipment and training deficiencies. We recommend the development of future interventions in all levels of facilities to improve the level of training.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/2/e068484.full |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Wilhelms Blandina Mmbaga Catherine A Staton Frida Shayo Malin Ardsby Francis M Sakita Baraka Moshi Parker Frankiewicz Lincoln Luis Silva Anjni Joiner Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey BMJ Open |
| title | Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_full | Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_fullStr | Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_short | Emergency unit capacity in Northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_sort | emergency unit capacity in northern tanzania a cross sectional survey |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/2/e068484.full |
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