In-Country Training by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons: An Initiative that has Aided Surgeon Retention and Distribution in Ghana

An application of the reasoned action approach to clinical students' intention toward a career in geriatrics

Guided by the reasoned action approach, this study examined select individual, information, and social factors that influence intention toward pursuing a career in geriatrics among 314 clinical medical and nursing students in Ghana. A Poisson regression showed attitude toward older persons was a significant influencing factor of intention to choose a career in geriatrics for medical students (B = 0.015, SE = 0.0048, p = 0.002) but not nursing students (B = 0.009, SE = 0.0145, p = 0.512). Personal interest was, however, a significant influencing factor for both medical and nursing students (B = 0.462, SE = 0.0592, p = 0.000) and (B = 0.015, SE = 0.0048, p = 0.002), respectively. Nursing students with moderate to strong interest were 1.6 times more likely to express an intention to specialize in geriatrics, and medical students were 1.5 times more likely to express an intention to specialize in geriatrics. The results show that the most important factor influencing geriatric career intention is students' personal interest in the field. Evidence-based interventions such as early educational and practice exposure to the field and interactions with older adults are recommended.

The need for hands-on training and supervision for entry-level physicians in a country with low surgical staffing density: a nationwide survey in Ghana

BACKGROUND

Despite the largely unmet need, relatively few medical school graduates enrol in surgical residency and fewer surgical specialists work rurally in low- and middle-income countries. Surgical housemanship is the only formal training for medical graduates who will become the main surgical care providers in underserved areas. This study aimed to evaluate Ghanaian surgical housemanship (internship) and its impact on independent medical practice.

METHODS

A nationwide questionnaire survey of surgical trainees from seven teaching or regional-level hospitals ascertained the experience and self-confidence levels for 35 training objectives set by the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana, and suggestions to improve surgical training quality.

RESULTS

Of 310 respondents, 59.7% experienced ≤ 10 cases for each topic, and 24.8% reported self-confidence as ≤ 2 points (out of 5). More than 90% of respondents experienced ≤ 10 cases for gastric, colorectal and liver cancer management. Teaching hospital trainees had lower proportions of those experiencing > 10 cases (36.6% versus 43.7%) and reporting self-confidence ≥ 4 (46.5% versus 55.8%), respectively, compared with those from regional/other-level hospitals. 40% of respondents were not confident about their surgical skills, and 70.5% requested better-supervised and practical surgical skills training. The proportion of respondents who reported limited supervision was higher among those from teaching hospitals, reported self-confidence scores < 4, and experienced ≤ 10 cases for each topic. 67% of respondents were satisfied with their surgical housemanship and 75.8% perceived surgical rotation as relevant to their future work.

CONCLUSIONS

Most surgical trainees are concerned about their surgical skills. A structured curriculum with specific goals and better-supervised surgical skills training should be established. Inclusion of regional/other-level hospitals in surgical training may reduce the supervisory burden in teaching hospitals.

The state of surgery, obstetrics, trauma, and anaesthesia care in Ghana: a narrative review

Background

Conditions amenable to surgical, obstetric, trauma, and anaesthesia (SOTA) care are a major contributor to death and disability in Ghana. SOTA care is an essential component of a well-functioning health system, and better understanding of the state of SOTA care in Ghana is necessary to design policies to address gaps in SOTA care delivery.

Objective

The aim of this study is to assess the current situation of SOTA care in Ghana.

Methods

A situation analysis was conducted as a narrative review of published scientific literature. Information was extracted from studies according to five health system domains related to SOTA care: service delivery, workforce, infrastructure, finance, and information management.

Results

Ghanaians face numerous barriers to accessing quality SOTA care, primarily due to health system inadequacies. Over 77% of surgical operations performed in Ghana are essential procedures, most of which are performed at district-level hospitals that do not have consistent access to imaging and operative room fundamentals. Tertiary facilities have consistent access to these modalities but lack consistent access to oxygen and/or oxygen concentrators on-site as well as surgical supplies and anaesthetic medicines. Ghanaian patients cover up to 91% of direct SOTA costs out-of-pocket, while health insurance only covers up to 14% of the costs. The Ghanaian surgical system also faces severe workforce inadequacies especially in district-level facilities. Most specialty surgeons are concentrated in urban areas. Ghana’s health system lacks a solid information management foundation as it does not have centralized SOTA databases, leading to incomplete, poorly coded, and illegible patient information.

Conclusion

This review establishes that surgical services provided in Ghana are focused primarily on district-level facilities that lack adequate infrastructure and face workforce shortages, among other challenges. A comprehensive scale-up of Ghana’s surgical infrastructure, workforce, national insurance plan, and information systems is warranted to improve Ghana’s surgical system.

Radiology subspecialisation in Africa: A review of the current status

Background

Radiology subspecialisation is well-established in much of Europe, North America, and Australasia. It is a natural evolution of the radiology speciality catalysed by multiple factors.

Objectives

The aim of this article is to analyse and provide an overview of the current status of radiology subspecialisation in African countries.

Methods

We reviewed English-language articles, reports, and other documents on radiology specialisation and subspecialisation in Africa.

Results

There are 54 sovereign countries in Africa (discounting disputed territories). Eighteen African countries with well-established radiology residency training were assessed for the availability of formal subspecialisation training locally. Eight (Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Tunisia) out of the 18 countries have local subspecialist training programmes. Data and/or information on subspecialisation were unavailable for three (Algeria, Libya, and Senegal) of the 18 countries. Paediatric Radiology (Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia) and Interventional Radiology (Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania) were the most frequently available subspecialist training programmes. Except Tanzania, all the countries with subspecialisation training programmes have ≥ 100 radiologists in their workforce.

Conclusion

There is limited availability of subspecialist radiology training programmes in African countries. Alternative models of subspecialist radiology training are suggested to address this deficit.

Increasing the use of continuing professional development courses to strengthen trauma care in Ghana

Injury is a major cause of death and disability in Ghana. Strengthening care of the injured is essential to reduce this burden. Trauma continuing professional development (CPD) courses are an important component of strengthening trauma care. In many countries, including Ghana, their use needs to be more uniformly promoted. We propose lowcost strategies to increase the utilization of trauma CPD in Ghana, especially in district hospitals and higher need areas. These strategies include developing plans by regional health directorates and teaching hospitals for the regions for which they are responsible. Lists could be kept and monitored of which hospitals have doctors with which type of training. Those hospitals that need to have at least one doctor trained could be flagged for notice of upcoming courses in the area and especially encouraged to have the needed doctors attend. The targets should include at least one surgeon or one emergency physician at all regional or large district hospitals who have taken the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) (or locally-developed alternative) in the past 4 years, and each district hospital should have at least one doctor who has taken the Primary Trauma Care (PTC) or Trauma Evaluation and Management (TEAM) (or locally-developed alternatives) in the past 4 years. Parallel measures would increase enrollment in the courses during training, such as promoting TEAM for all medical students and ATLS for all surgery residents. It is important to develop and utilize more "home grown" alternatives to increase the long-term sustainability of these efforts.

Funding

None.

Enumeration of Operations Performed for Elderly Patients in Ghana: An Opportunity to Improve Global Surgery Benchmarking

INTRODUCTION

The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery proposed 5000 operations/100,000 people annually as a benchmark for developing countries but did not define benchmarks for different age groups. We evaluated the operation rate for elderly patients (≥65 years) in Ghana and estimated the unmet surgical need for the elderly by comparison to a high-income country benchmark.

METHODS

Data on operations performed for elderly patients over a 1-year period in 2014-5 were obtained from representative samples of 48/124 small district hospitals and 12/16 larger referral hospitals and scaled-up for nationwide estimates. Operations were categorized as essential (most cost-effective, highest population impact) versus other according to The World Bank's Disease Control Priority project (DCP-3). Data from New Zealand's National Minimum Dataset were used to derive a benchmark operation rate for the elderly.

RESULTS

16,007 operations were performed for patients ≥65 years. The annual operation rate was 1744/100,000 (95% UI 1440-2048), only 12% of the New Zealand benchmark of 14,103/100,000. 74% of operations for the elderly were in the essential category. The most common procedures (15%) were for urinary obstruction. 58% of operations were performed at district hospitals; 54% of these did not have fully-trained surgeons. Referral hospitals more commonly performed operations outside the essential category.

CONCLUSION

The operation rate was well beneath the benchmark, indicating a potentially large unmet need for Ghana's elderly population. Most operations for the elderly were in the essential category and delivered at district hospitals. Future global surgery benchmarking should consider specific benchmarks for different age groups.

Antibiotics for Groin Hernia Repair According to Evidence-Based Guidelines: Time for Action in Ghana

BACKGROUD

Groin hernia repairs (GHR), though classified as clean surgeries, are associated with varying rates of surgical site infections. We assessed the practices of surgeons in Ghana regarding antibiotic use for GHR in comparison to evidence-based international guidelines (EBIG).

METHODS

We interviewed surgeons trained by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), from inception (2003) through 2016, about their use of antibiotics for GHR. We defined the outcome variable of consistently following EBIG in antibiotics use for GHR. Logistic regression was used to examine how a priori selected covariates contributed to the outcome.

RESULTS

Eighty-two of 117 surgeons reported performing/supervising at least one GHR per week. They performed/supervised a mean of five GHR per week. Thirty-two (40%) reported using mesh for at least 50% of GHR. For primary GHR, 75% of surgeons administered antibiotics according to EBIG, whereas for GHR with mesh only, 45% did so. Predictors of consistently following EBIG were increasing number of GHR performed per week (adjusted odds ratio 1.44, 95% CI 1.07-1.96) and increasing time spent for clinical work (adjusted odds ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.91-0.99). Years of practice since GCPS graduation, total operations performed per week, and hospital level of practice were not predictive of the outcome variable.

CONCLUSIONS

Two-thirds of Ghanaian surgeons interviewed do not consistently administer antibiotics for GHR per EBIG, raising the need to improve access to evidence-based medical information overall to guide practice. Determining local surgical site infections rates to guide antibiotic use in GHR will be useful in Ghana and other LMICs.