Evolution of emergency medical services in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Variance Analysis of Expatriate Pre-Hospital Provider Training in Bahrain

Introduction

The absence of local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) educational programs in Bahrain has given rise to an EMS workforce comprised predominantly of expatriate personnel with varying educational backgrounds that require further training before being licensed as EMS providers in Bahrain.

Methods

A qualitative variance analysis was performed comparing desired core competencies for EMS practice in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, used as a comparator for Bahrain, with core competencies extracted from national curricula of the major countries from which expatriate providers originate.

Results

Major core competencies not covered by the expatriate providers’ curricula were identified as follows: working in an autonomous environment, requiring different critical thinking and decision-making skills, assessment and treatment during transportation, disaster response, EMS knowledge base, and coping with the different stressors of the prehospital environment.

Conclusion

These results can form the basis for additional customized training programs for expatriate EMS providers working in Bahrain, with the goal of improving and standardizing EMS care in the country.

Epidemiology of pediatric trauma in the Kingdom of Bahrain: a national pediatric trauma registry pilot study

Background

A pediatric trauma registry for the Kingdom of Bahrain would be a novel public health tool for the Bahraini health system. The aim of this study was to explore the epidemiology of pediatric trauma at the national level by describing the distribution of pediatric injury in the Kingdom, and quantifying the burden of injury shouldered by the study population.

Methods

This multicenter observational cross-sectional study was conducted in Bahrain using data from the Pediatric Trauma Registry (PTR), which was a short-term paper-based prospective trauma registry that collected data over a three-month period in 2018. PTR was based in the pediatric emergency departments (ED) of the three national referral hospitals in the Kingdom. By simultaneously collecting data from all three trauma hospitals in the country, it was assumed that during the data collection period all major pediatric trauma patients in the country would be captured by the study, and that the data collected would provide national estimates of trauma. Inclusion criteria for the study was any individual under the age of 14, that arrived at the ED seeking care for intentional and unintentional injuries.

Results

A total of 1328 patients were included in the study. Sixty-nine percent of patients were treated and discharged from the ED, 30.5% were admitted to the hospital, admitted for surgery, or seen by a specialist, and 0.5% were declared deceased. The percentage of patients documented as unrestrained during Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVC) was 92.3%, and amongst those involved in MVC, 12% were ejected from the cabin of the vehicle.

Conclusions

There are significant implications that this study holds for policy implementation and practice surrounding injury prevention in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Low seatbelt utilization and the high proportion of ejection amongst MVC victims warrant immediate public health policy implementation, including enforcement of seat belt laws, strengthening of the traffic court system, and awareness campaigns for MVC prevention. Additionally, pediatric drowning prevention programs centered on constant adult supervision, pool isolation fencing, personal flotation devices, and swimming education should be created to address the mortality attributable to drowning in this study.

Correction to: Evolution of emergency medical services in the Kingdom of Bahrain

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.