Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus study
Introduction: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionally affected by conditions requiring emergency care but there are limited contextually appropriate studies performed within these settings involving the patient population and healthcare systems they aim to benefit. Over the pa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Emergency Medicine |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X23000642 |
| _version_ | 1797301613735444480 |
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| author | Robert Holliman Lee Wallis Colleen Saunders |
| author_facet | Robert Holliman Lee Wallis Colleen Saunders |
| author_sort | Robert Holliman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionally affected by conditions requiring emergency care but there are limited contextually appropriate studies performed within these settings involving the patient population and healthcare systems they aim to benefit. Over the past five years, researchers in the Western Cape of South Africa have produced approximately 20 % of all emergency care publications from Africa, yet no agreed list of research priorities exists. Establishing research priorities, via recognised consensus methods, can ensure that efforts and resources in LMICs are more appropriately targeted to the need. Method: Using a modified Delphi study, we invited a range of public and private representatives from different professional emergency care cadres within the Western Cape to identify current evidence gaps and consensus research priorities across the four areas of the WHO Emergency Care Systems framework: scene care, prehospital care, facility-based care, and the emergency care system itself. We then purposively selected eleven experts holding key academic and management positions to form a panel and perform a nominal group technique process to discuss these identified research priorities and establish a final list of priority research questions. Result: Forty of the sixty-six (61 %) emergency care professionals invited contributed to the Delphi phase of the study, with representation from all professional cadres. After deduplication, 154 research topics were identified in the first round. In the second round, 94 (61 %) topics were considered research priorities by at least 80 % of participants. Following the nominal group technique discussion, 26 questions were established as consensus research priorities having been ranked as a top ten priority by over 50 % of panellists. Conclusion: We were able to successfully collate expert opinion and identify existing emergency care knowledge gaps within the Western Cape province of South Africa. Key topics identified for future work included questions on current health-seeking behaviour, dispatch, interfacility transfer, and staff burnout. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:25:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd17aec6388845aab029feaa2148ea83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-419X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:25:06Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | African Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd17aec6388845aab029feaa2148ea832024-02-21T05:24:53ZengElsevierAfrican Journal of Emergency Medicine2211-419X2024-03-0114116Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus studyRobert Holliman0Lee Wallis1Colleen Saunders2Corresponding author.; Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa, F51 Old Main Building, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, Cape Town, South AfricaDivision of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa, F51 Old Main Building, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, Cape Town, South AfricaDivision of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa, F51 Old Main Building, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, Cape Town, South AfricaIntroduction: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionally affected by conditions requiring emergency care but there are limited contextually appropriate studies performed within these settings involving the patient population and healthcare systems they aim to benefit. Over the past five years, researchers in the Western Cape of South Africa have produced approximately 20 % of all emergency care publications from Africa, yet no agreed list of research priorities exists. Establishing research priorities, via recognised consensus methods, can ensure that efforts and resources in LMICs are more appropriately targeted to the need. Method: Using a modified Delphi study, we invited a range of public and private representatives from different professional emergency care cadres within the Western Cape to identify current evidence gaps and consensus research priorities across the four areas of the WHO Emergency Care Systems framework: scene care, prehospital care, facility-based care, and the emergency care system itself. We then purposively selected eleven experts holding key academic and management positions to form a panel and perform a nominal group technique process to discuss these identified research priorities and establish a final list of priority research questions. Result: Forty of the sixty-six (61 %) emergency care professionals invited contributed to the Delphi phase of the study, with representation from all professional cadres. After deduplication, 154 research topics were identified in the first round. In the second round, 94 (61 %) topics were considered research priorities by at least 80 % of participants. Following the nominal group technique discussion, 26 questions were established as consensus research priorities having been ranked as a top ten priority by over 50 % of panellists. Conclusion: We were able to successfully collate expert opinion and identify existing emergency care knowledge gaps within the Western Cape province of South Africa. Key topics identified for future work included questions on current health-seeking behaviour, dispatch, interfacility transfer, and staff burnout.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X23000642LMICResearch prioritiesConsensus |
| spellingShingle | Robert Holliman Lee Wallis Colleen Saunders Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus study African Journal of Emergency Medicine LMIC Research priorities Consensus |
| title | Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus study |
| title_full | Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus study |
| title_fullStr | Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus study |
| title_short | Determining the research priorities for emergency care within the Western Cape province of South Africa: A consensus study |
| title_sort | determining the research priorities for emergency care within the western cape province of south africa a consensus study |
| topic | LMIC Research priorities Consensus |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X23000642 |
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