Anesthetic Care in Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: The World Bank and Lancet Commission in 2015 have prioritized surgery in Low-Income Countries (LIC) and Lower-Middle Income Countries (LMICs). This is consistent with the shift in the global burden of disease from communicable to noncommunicable diseases over the past 20 years. Essential surgery must be performed safely, with adequate anesthesia monitoring and intervention. Unfortunately, a huge barrier to providing safe surgery includes the paucity of an anesthesia workforce. In this study, we qualitatively evaluated the anesthesia capacity of Mozambique, a LIC in Africa with limited access to anesthesia and safe surgical care. Country-based solutions are suggested that can expand to other LIC and LMICs. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the Mozambique anesthesia system was conducted through interviews with personnel in the Ministry of Health (MOH), a school of medicine, a public central referral hospital, a general first referral hospital, a private care hospital, and leaders in the physician anesthesia community. Personnel databases were acquired from the MOH and Maputo Central Hospital. RESULTS: Quantitative results reveal minimal anesthesia capacity (290 anesthesia providers for a population of >25 million or 0.01:10,000). The majority of physician anesthesiologists practice in urban settings, and many work in the private sector. There is minimal capacity for growth given only 1 Mozambique anesthesia residency with inadequate resources. The most commonly perceived barriers to safe anesthesia in this critical shortage are lack of teachers, lack of medical student interest in and exposure to anesthesia, need for more schools, low allocation to anesthesia from the list of available specialist prospects by MOH, and low public payments to anesthesiologists. Qualitative results show assets of a good health system design, a supportive environment for learning in the residency, improvement in anesthetic care in past decades, and a desire for more educational opportunities and teachers. CONCLUSIONS: Mozambique has a strong health system design but few resources for surgery and safe anesthesia. At present, similar to other LICs, human resources, access to essential medicines, and safety monitoring limit safe anesthesia in Mozambique.

Anesthetic Care in Mozambique

The World Bank and Lancet Commission in 2015 have prioritized surgery in Low-Income Countries (LIC) and Lower-Middle Income Countries (LMICs). This is consistent with the shift in the global burden of disease from communicable to noncommunicable diseases over the past 20 years. Essential surgery must be performed safely, with adequate anesthesia monitoring and intervention. Unfortunately, a huge barrier to providing safe surgery includes the paucity of an anesthesia workforce.1 In this study, we qualitatively evaluated the anesthesia capacity of Mozambique, a LIC in Africa with limited access to anesthesia and safe surgical care. Country-based solutions are suggested that can expand to other LIC and LMICs. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the Mozambique anesthesia system was conducted through interviews with personnel in the Ministry of Health (MOH), a school of medicine, a public central referral hospital, a general first referral hospital, a private care hospital, and leaders in the physician anesthesia community. Personnel databases were acquired from the MOH and Maputo Central Hospital. RESULTS: Quantitative results reveal minimal anesthesia capacity (290 anesthesia providers for a population of >25 million or 0.01:10,000). The majority of physician anesthesiologists practice in urban settings, and many work in the private sector. There is minimal capacity for growth given only 1 Mozambique anesthesia residency with inadequate resources. The most commonly perceived barriers to safe anesthesia in this critical shortage are lack of teachers, lack of medical student interest in and exposure to anesthesia, need for more schools, low allocation to anesthesia from the list of available specialist prospects by MOH, and low public payments to anesthesiologists. Qualitative results show assets of a good health system design, a supportive environment for learning in the residency, improvement in anesthetic care in past decades, and a desire for more educational opportunities and teachers. CONCLUSIONS: Mozambique has a strong health system design but few resources for surgery and safe anesthesia. At present, similar to other LICs, human resources, access to essential medicines, and safety monitoring limit safe anesthesia in Mozambique. (Anesth Analg 2016;122:1634­9)

Evaluation of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation curriculum in a low resource environment.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether a 2-day International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) Universal Algorithm-based curriculum taught in a tertiary care hospital in Liberia increases local health care provider knowledge and skill comfort level. METHODS: A combined basic and advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) curriculum was developed for low-resource settings that included lectures and low-fidelity manikin-based simulations. In March 2014, the curriculum was taught to healthcare providers in a tertiary care hospital in Liberia. In a quality assurance review, participants were evaluated for knowledge and comfort levels with resuscitation before and after the workshop. They were also videotaped during simulation sessions and evaluated on standardized performance metrics. RESULTS: Fifty-two hospital staff completed both pre-and post-curriculum surveys. The median score was 45% pre-curriculum and 82% post-curriculum (p<0.00001). The median provider comfort level score was 4 of 5 pre-curriculum and 5 of 5 post-curriculum (p<0.00001). During simulations, 93.2% of participants performed the pulse check within 10 seconds, and 97.7% performed defibrillation within 180 seconds. CONCLUSIONS: Clinician knowledge of and comfort level with CPR increased significantly after participating in our curriculum. A CPR curriculum based on lectures and low-fidelity manikin simulations may be an effective way to teach resuscitation in this low-resource setting.